Waking the Nightmare to Live the Dream
by Divey
Summary: COMPLETE TyKa Vday Fic! Set in the future and centred on Tyson and Kai, who attend University. Kai, with typical stubborn pride, is working himself hard not quite to death, but close, but is missing out on all life might have to offer...
1. The Beginning

(**Note: **The beginning notes are going to be looooong... Sorry!)

**A/N:** Okay. Anyone who's reading this should get the following warning: I got the idea for this story after a brutal week that ended with an all-nighter. So yes. Forewarned is forearmed and all that. I think the hardest thing about this story is trying to write an exhausted person's pov of the world around him – especially when a lot of stuff is going on that he's missing. And yet, trying to get the info through that there _is_ something wrong is... Yeah. Fun!

**Warnings:  
**- TyKa. Eventually. (As in, next chapter.) This chapter, you'll be pleased to note, contains hints – if you like to interpret things from a certain pov.  
-Kai will probably be _legitimately_ OOC. (You'll notice how "cleverly" I did this.) After all, when someone's exhausted to the point of their body shutting down and is holding onto their sanity by a faint thread, they're bound to get a little different, right?  
-This takes place down the road, so I guess it could be considered AU. I threw everyone into a University setting, because I thought that would be fun to write. And besides, people will have hopefully mellowed by that time, right?  
-Flashbacks will be noted through _Italics_. I'm really sorry about that.

**Dedication:** This V-Day short story is dedicated to the _huge_ response from the wonderful reviewers for the "Heat" story. I was absolutely amazed – even more so when everyone insisted that I write more or continue that story. This goes out to you!

Oh and btw? **Yami FireKali, TechnoRanma, **and **Glay**:Thank you very, very much for your comments! I thought I should let you know that your stories make me drool and squeal (though not necessarily in that order) and that I worship the ground you walk on. If I have _any_ time in the upcoming bit, you three are –so- getting gushy reviews from me on your work. Oh, yeah.

**Additional Notes: **I want to be Julie. You will see why. ((grins))  
Having said all, please enjoy:

**Waking the Nightmare to Live the Dream**

Kai stumbled homewards, feeling every second of his twenty-three years of age and then some. The moonlit streets gleamed metallic silver and the flickering streetlights splashed gold. To an artist's soul, this time truly was the witching hour – a time of imagination and fantasy, of dragons and damsels in distress.

To Kai, the night sky was just another reminder of how he'd spent all day in the university laboratory.

Again.

Not that he had a choice, of course. Biology was his chosen major, and he had made the decision to take five courses this semester. It was a good decision, but the workload was overwhelming. This had been the ... what? Something like the third week in a row where he'd had to stay late just to finish up an assignment due tomorrow. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been able to grab a normal night's sleep. Days blurred into a steady stream, distinguished solely by momentary naps, taken only when his body refused to function until it got a few hours rest.

He knew he was overworking himself, that his brain and body were dangerously low on fuel. The three coffee shops on campus had begun to recognize him on sight, not to mention that they knew his order by heart: an extra-hot triple espresso latte with added whipped cream.

Turning a corner, Kai moved onwards, smiling shakily in recollection. The whipped cream had been Tyson's idea.

_(Flashback)

* * *

__"After all," he said, "if you don't have time for food, then you may as well get a boost from the sugar, right? Besides, it's cream! It's an essential source of dairy goodness and calcium!"_

_Kai gave him a sceptical look, having been awake enough back then for facial expressions. "I don't think whipped cream is counted as a food group, Tyson." _

_Tyson simply grinned, handing him the coffee – complete with extra whipped cream. "You can always pretend. Besides, it tastes so good!"_

_Rolling his eyes, Kai took a sip. The drink had been good, the contrast between the hot drink and the cold topping sliding down his throat. Then he felt the caffeine burning against his empty stomach and he sighed in relief._

_"That's not bad at all."_

_"Told ya!" Tyson laughed, then snatched a napkin from the dispenser and handed it to Kai. "But watch out for the cream moustache, kitty."_

_"...Shut up, Kinomiya."

* * *

_Shaking his head to clear away the cobwebs of the past, Kai staggered up to the door of the apartment building. Hands trembling with exhaustion, he somehow managed to get out the key and get through the doubly barred doors. Mounting the three steps to the main floor, he paused again, swaying on his feet.

Stairs...? Or elevator?

The stairs would be good for him, he knew. But he was so tired...

He found himself pushing the button for the elevator before he knew what was going on. With depressingly fast speed (who else would be up at this hour and tying up the elevator?), the elevator moved down to the main floor, swishing open its doors with a tinny "ding."

Forcing himself to move, Kai got into the elevator. He hit the button for the twelfth floor and let the machinery do its job. He tried to keep standing, but the lull of the machinery was so soothing.

_Ding!_

The doors opened, again with the soft alert. Kai's eyes shot open and he stood up as fast as he could, getting out of the elevator just as the doors started to close. When had he fallen asleep? The elevator ride was all of thirty seconds long.

Oh, gods above, he was tired. But what else was new?

His left hand stretched out of its own will to gain support from the wall, and his body began moving on simple automatic, shuffling down the hallway. The door to his home was just a few more steps...

His bed would be just a few extra metres away. His soft, warm, comfy bed... that he could only vaguely remember sleeping in. Tonight wouldn't be one of those nights, he knew. After all, he still had to write up this lab report and then he should probably start on that presentation due for Friday.

The door opened suddenly and Kai fell in, completely off balance. Warm, strong arms caught him and dragged him just inside before letting go and leaning him against a wall. Kai opened his eyes again – when had he shut them _now_? – only to be greeted with Tyson's exasperated face.

"Kai! How long were you standing out there? Did you fall asleep against the door again?"

Kai exhaled, trying to convey his annoyance without actually using any energy. He'd need it tonight. He hadn't managed to grab his coffee before the shops had closed and so he'd be forced to rely on the apartment's dinky little coffee maker.

He merely watched as Tyson shook his head, only paying half-attention to the words his roommate was saying. "—just lucky that I was finishing up my essay, is all. What if I'd gone to bed? You would have probably fallen asleep in the hallway!" Tyson suddenly yawned, interrupting the friendly scolding. "Man, I'm bushed. Midterm season sucks. How're you doing?"

Kai could feel his eyes closing this time, but didn't bother stopping them. It was only when his head fell downward did he bother jerking it up. Once his head went down, that was sleeping. He couldn't be sleeping now; he had work to do...

Unable to stop the pitiful whimper from escaping, Kai pushed himself away from the wall and started the trek to the computer.

"You done with the computer? Or should I use the uh..." Kai's brain suddenly lost any knowledge of the English language. "The ... thingy... with the... stuff..."

He blinked. That hadn't sounded too smart.

Tyson, though, grinned. "You mean the laptop? Nah, I'm done with the computer. Just give me a second to print the essay off, ok?"

Kai yawned again, waving his hand dismissively. "...'k."

There was a pause and Kai yawned again, distantly listening to the background sounds: the building settled, the keys tapped softly, the laser printer whirred softly as it fired up, Tyson sighed disgustedly...

"Man, I swear that I'm single-handedly responsible for the Amazonian rainforest's destruction. This is, like, my third ten-page essay this week – and it's only Wednesday!"

"Mmm..."

More background activity, but he wasn't paying attention anymore. Tyson's voice was pleasant background chatter to Kai's perusal of their shared apartment.

It was a two-bedroom place, albeit on the small side. The rent was modest, though, and it was fairly close to campus, so those factors more than made up for the tight squeeze. The rooms were opposite the other; there was a tiny bathroom in the left corner, and the utility closet was on its right. He was currently in the narrow hallway and was looking into the main area, where the kitchen blended smoothly into the work area. To his right was the computer area, to his left was the TV (which was hardly ever turned on anymore – there wasn't ever any spare time), the stereo unit with a single chair, and in front of him was the much-used long couch that Kai had a feeling he'd be using for a quick nap at five in the morning.

"Kai? Hey, Kai! I'm done – your turn."

"Mm."

"Kaaaaiiiiiii?" Dragging his name out slowly, Tyson snapped his fingers in front of his face and shook Kai's shoulders a bit. "You okay there?"

"This place is a mess."

Tyson grinned and shrugged, unabashed. "Gimme a week. Or two. I promise I'll have it cleaned up by summer, ok?"

"Hn." Kai snorted, and moved to go over the computer area. A hesitant hand stopped him so he turned, giving Tyson an indistinguishable look.

It would have been curious and amused, but facial expressions took precious energy – more than he wanted to use. It was so much easier to stare blankly at someone.

"What?"

Tyson bit his lip. "Are you going to be doing an all-nighter again?"

Kai sighed. "Pro'lly." The slurred word slipped out from between lax lips and he felt mild annoyance at his body's betrayal. He was relatively young – shouldn't it only start falling apart once he got older?

"All right, then. Are you going to be able to get some sleep soon though? You're starting to make me worry. You're not looking that great."

Kai exhaled strongly. "I'm fine. Now let go. I need to work."

Reluctantly, Tyson released him and started to turn. "Ok. Well, it's one in the morning and all, so I'm gonna hit the sack. Call me if you need me, alright?"

Well, that was amusing. "I don't ever need you, Tyson."

There was a pause before Tyson raised a hand to his mouth. Kai forced his gritty eyes to look at Tyson again, mildly concerned that he had offended or angered or something. Instead, he was greeted with a definitely amused expression and a snort of laughter from Tyson's throat.

"You don't need me? That's _funny_." Tyson chuckled for a few minutes before subsiding. "Sorry. It's late and I'm on sugar. I'll see you later, ok?"

"Hn. G'nite."

Tyson yawned again and waved a floppy farewell before turning to go to his bedroom. Kai looked on wistfully and wishing that was him, before steeling himself for another night of gruelling labour.

Then he turned to the computer, logged into his account, and began typing.

* * *

"—ai! Kai! Kai, wake up! You've got class! Kai, wake up!"

Was there an earthquake? His world was shaking. Making a pitiful whine of annoyance, Kai tried to return to blissful oblivion.

"Kai, if you don't wake up, I'm going to resort to drastic measures."

Kai didn't answer, too busy straining for that blessed darkness. The talking earthquake could screw itself. He wanted to immerse himself in the warm pitch, maybe even forever.

Cold! Wet! ICE!

Kai's eyes flew open, though it took a while for the brain to catch up. "..what..." he grumped, not yet awake but not in that tempting unconsciousness that he was still reaching out for.

Instead, something white was shoved at him and much blinking made it clear into the assignment he'd finished ... sometime this morning.

"...Tys'n?" His voice was a scratchy whisper, but the bluenette had already moved out of sight.

"Come on, Kai! I've got to get to class, and you do too! It's Thursday, and you told me you've always got those lab quizzes Thursday. Let's go already!"

"Screw th' quiz. 'm sleepin'."

Another pause – though this one was ominous – before steps sounded across the floor. Already mostly asleep, Kai's nose scrunched up. Tyson had his shoes on and was probably tracking mud and bugs all over their hardwood floor...

Ah, well. Tyson made the mess, so Tyson would clean it up. Kai just wanted to sleep.

There was the sound of an annoyed sigh, before Tyson spoke up again. "I know you hate me for this now, but you'll hate yourself even more if you miss another quiz. You've already slept through two, right? And didn't you say that the prof warned you guys that three absences was an automatic fail?"

"Scr'w the prof then."

"You know, I really should be getting paid for this." The muttered phrase was the only sound before two sets of arms roughly grabbed him and dragged him from his sleeping spot, a familiar voice grunting slightly with effort.

"No ..." Kai moaned. Sleeep...

Oh well. This new bed may be moving and harder, but it was still warm. His fingers curled into the soft texture of the pillow and he sighed happily. This was almost nicer, really. His head tried to burrow into the warmth, only dimly keeping track of surrounding sounds without actually registering them as important.

There was a soft click as a door latched shut and more rhythmic stepping movement before another voice, less familiar, began teasingly.

"Is there something I should know about, Mr. Kinomiya?"

His pillow shook as a cheerful laugh rang out. "Nah. Kai here just doesn't want to wake up, in spite of the test he's got today."

"I see. And that explains why you're carrying him, bridal-style, over your threshold and down the hallway?"

Another laugh, this one slightly nervous. "Well, it's the only way I can get him to class and still carry my backpack."

The voice switched into understanding. "Gotcha. Well, I've always got a trolley, if you ever get tired of doing that. What is this, the fifth time you've had to do this?"

"More like the seventh. This guy's so overworked – ah! Thank you for holding open the elevator, miss!"

"No problem, muscle-man!" Kai's world stopped moving, but started to slide downwards. "He's just lucky to have a friend like you looking out for him."

Slightly embarrassed laughter from his pillow this time. Kai groaned and shifted, trying to get the pillow to stop moving.

There was a snicker. "Isn't he cute? Doesn't he get heavy, though?"

His pillow shrugged – moving again. "A little. I like to think of it as a substitute for the gym. See? I'm building my upper arm strength!"

There was a small dinging sound and his bed began moving once more. "I'll see ya later, Julie!"

"Bye, Tyson! Enjoy your walk!" More cheerful laughter, before it gradually faded.

"Mmrrr..." Bright light seemed to suddenly assault him and he flinched. No matter how hard he tried, though, he couldn't get away from it. Against his own will, he could feel his body responding, starting to wake up. Once again, his brain started taking in information and making it relevant.

Kai twitched, sliding into the waking world of the bright morning. "Tyson? Why are you carrying me?"

Tyson shrugged, jostling Kai's position. "You wouldn't get up, but you made me promise you that I wouldn't let you sleep through your morning class again. So I decided I had to carry you to school."

He blinked. "I can't believe you did that."

Tyson grinned. "Of course not. You have no imagination, Kai."

"Yeah, well, I'm awake now so put me down."

Tyson grinned, shaking his head fondly. "All right, all right. Don't get your knickers in a bunch." He stopped and let Kai get down.

"You okay now?"

Kai swayed a bit, before recovering from a brief dizzy spell. "Fine."

Ignoring the stares that were aimed at them, the two started out for the campus.

Kai sighed, tilting his head upwards to catch the warm morning rays. The sun was shining down brightly, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. It was a nice day, he grudgingly admitted.

"So what classes do you have today again?"

Tyson blinked, coming back from somewhere, to look at him. "What? Oh. Well, I've got the Restoration plays class right now, and then I've got Math later today. You?"

Kai shrugged. "There's the microbiology lab class in the morning, and then I've got the cell biology lab at two and the bioengineering class after that."

Shooting him an indecipherable look, Tyson fidgeted a bit – an interesting feat while walking. "Do you want to get together for lunch then?"

It was vaguely tempting, Kai had to admit. What with all these deadlines, he found he was relying more and more on Tyson's light-hearted personality to relieve the stress. But still... he shook his head. "I've got to work on the other labs – probably through lunch, too." He looked away.

Tyson sighed, before shrugging. "No worries. I don't know what I was thinking, anyway. I mean, we're both really busy and all.."

Kai cleared his throat, trying to make that action relieve the guilt he felt inside. "How're your classes going, anyway?"

Immediately, Tyson grimaced cheerfully. "Oh, man! It's totally busy! I'm loving every minute of it, though. Oh, and yesterday? The prof was preparing us on how to teach elementary classes and he brought his little girl in as an example. Oh man, was she cute! She was, like, seven years old and was totally nervous! It was great – she was such a sweetheart. I was talking to her after class, and she decided I was her older brother or something! She's sure going to be a heartbreaker when she grows up.

"What else? Oh!" Tyson paused to jump over a crack in the sidewalk. "Right! This week, we've got to pick a class that we want to teach somewhere. I'm having a tough time trying to choose. I dunno. It's either going to be Grade 9 gym or Grade 10 English. What do you think?"

Kai looked at him scathingly. "You're asking me for advice? You're the future teacher – aren't you supposed to rely on your _own_ knowledge and limited brain power?"

Tyson punched his arm softly. "Bite me."

"No thanks. You'd probably taste like Cheetos."

"Mmm... Cheetos. That reminds me; I should probably do a grocery run. Do you want me to pick up anything for you?"

Kai grumped. "Coffee. Lots of coffee."

Rolling his eyes, Tyson grinned. "Noooo, really? I would have never guessed."

There was a comfortable pause as the two dodged the early-morning rush on campus. Kai realized that Tyson had been nice enough to wake them up with enough time so that they didn't have to hurry too much. Kai, after all, _hated_ hurrying. Ignoring the voice of nagging responsibility that was telling him to start work on his assignments, he slowed down.

He realized something and frowned, trying to think. "Hold on. Didn't you get groceries last week, too?"

Tyson feigned ignorance, widening his eyes deceptively. "I can't remember. I thought _you_ did."

Kai whipped his head over to snarl at Tyson, irrationally furious. "Of course I didn't! You know as well as I do that I've done nothing but work for the last month and a half!"

Tyson's eyes re-widened in honest surprise. "Hey, sorry. I thought I was just doing you a favour."

Kai snarled again. "I am not a pity case! Just back off, Tyson!" He sped up again, fuming.

Tyson ran to catch up, mildly annoyed. "You know, this may just be my English major kicking in, but you're being a _total_ paradox. First you draw attention to your hectic schedule which allows you to do nothing but work, but then you become offended when someone actually does the things that you don't have time for!"

Kai shook his head, suddenly very tired. "I... whatever, Tyson. Think what you want."

Tyson stuck out his tongue. "Why? Because you can't?" He smirked. "Burn! Oh, yeah!"

Kai continued to face forward and didn't answer for a while. Then... "Feel better?"

"Much. Thanks, you." Tyson was all smiles again. "Sorry about that. This week's beginning to stress me out and wear me down."

"You know, I've been meaning to ask you about that. You're taking the same number of classes as me, but you're managing just fine. Have you fallen behind or something?"

Tyson drew himself up. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Kai dodged a freshman who was obviously late for class. "Nothing. I was just wondering."

"Oh." Tyson paused and calmed back down. "Well, I didn't do my readings for today, but that's about it. Things are pretty good on my end, actually. I mean, I've got to work on writing a bunch of term papers, and then do a class layout, then a bunch of other stuff – not to mention try to register for next year's classes."

Tyson blinked, surprised. "Actually, I guess I am pretty busy. I dunno. I guess I find writing papers is pretty easy, so I can get them done pretty quickly. That's been most of our work. We've had a _lot_ of papers, come to think about it." Tyson thought for a second or two, then shrugged. "Whatever. It helps that I don't have all those labs to go to this semester."

There wasn't an answer for a minute. Tyson glanced sideways only to see Kai looking pensive. Or half-asleep.

"You okay?"

Kai's head shot up. "Fine! ... Just fine."

It was obvious that Tyson didn't believe him for a second, but by then they'd reached the splitting pathway. Tyson sighed and jerked a thumb to the left. "All right, then. I go this way, so I'll see you later, ok?"

Nodding, Kai continued to the right. He paused for a second, then turned. Embarrassed at his own lack of willpower, he spoke up, "Thank you for waking me up this morning."

Tyson turned, also pausing momentarily, before grinning knowingly. "Hey, you woke me up last semester during that rough time. It's only fair that I get to repay the favour, right?" Tossing off a cheerful wave, he broke into a jog. "Later!"

* * *

As the moon shone down, Kai stumbled through the door, sleepily taking in the darkened apartment. "Tyson?"

Blinking in slow confusion, he looked at the stove clock. It was after eleven at night, and Tyson usually landed home at four in the afternoon or so. Why was the apartment empty, then?

Kai shook himself. What was he thinking? Wherever Tyson was, that was his business. Besides, Kai didn't have enough energy to worry about his roommate.

It didn't matter, really. He had work to do that couldn't be done on campus – which was why he'd been able to come home before midnight for a change. Kai moved over to the computer area, knowing he wouldn't be able to get to sleep before four in the morning.

He had work to do for Monday, along with four other large assignments.

Kai sat down, logged in, then opened his backpack. He looked at his workload for the weekend and groaned.

What had he been thinking, taking all five classes at once? Well, actually, he knew. He'd thought he could handle it – and he was, though barely. He should have taken four classes. Most people in Sciences that he'd talked to had cut down to four. It was just that he needed these five classes to graduate, and four of them were offered only rarely. But why had he taken that fifth class...?

Oh, right. Because he'd seen Tyson taking five classes and hadn't wanted to look inferior. Whatever Tyson could handle, he could handle better, right?

Kai groaned again, got up and automatically made some coffee. It was times like this that he felt like a fool.

The worst of it was that the deadline had already passed for dropping a class and getting a refund. Kai may have inherited enough money to put himself through university, but that didn't mean he had much to spare. It was one of the reasons why he'd agreed to room with Tyson, actually.

In a sleep-deprived daze, Kai stared blankly at coffee-perker, remembering how that conversation had gone.

_(Flashback)_

* * *

_"Man, I'm so excited! This is so great!" Max gushed at his friends. The five of them sat in the mall's food court, going over their letters of acceptance. "We're all going to the University of Japan!" _

_Ray grinned at Max. "You had sugar again, didn't you?"_

_Pretending to pout, Max slapped Ray lightly on the head. "Shut up! I'm just excited about this."_

_Opposite from the two, Tyson laughed, stretching out. "I totally know what you're talking about! This is so cool! Think about it, you guys! The world-championship beyblading team will be all in one place –oh! Oh! Hey! We should room together or something!"_

_To his left, Kai snorted. "Finding a place that will fit five people would be impossible."_

_"Spoilsport." Tyson crossed his arms, accidentally making his Coke spill across the table. _

_"Tyson!" Like an avenging sparrow, Kenny swooped Dizzi out of harm's way. "Watch out!"_

_Tyson winced. "Sorry!"_

_Max picked up Tyson's train of thought. "We should try and get rooms in the same residence, though. That would be great!"_

_Kenny spoke up again, adjusting his glasses. "Actually, I'm afraid I've already had to register for my room. The on-campus residences fill up fairly fast, and I really needed to be close to the computer sciences building."_

_Ray nodded, looking kind of sheepish. "I'm in the same situation, you guys. The minute after I got my letter of acceptance, I had to jump online and try and get a special room on-campus, too. It was the cheapest way I could get a place that would allow for my 'special diet.'" He grinned, his fangs flashing. "I like to cook my own meals."_

_Max and Tyson sighed at the same time, both drooping in their seats. "Sucky..."_

_"How about you, Kai?" Kenny glanced over. "Are you registered yet?"_

_Tyson perked up immediately, and the others glanced over curiously as they waited for an answer. _

_Kai flicked a glance at them before returning to glare at the rest of the food-court. "No," he muttered. _

_Mouth hanging open in slight shock, Tyson gaped. "Man, Kai! I would have thought you would have been totally organized! I mean... you're Kai!"_

_Kai turned and let the full weight of his glare fall on Tyson. "There are some legal things I need to care of first. Not that it's any of your business."_

_Tyson put his hands up in surrender. "Okay, okay! Sorry! I just thought..." he trailed off, before changing the subject._

_From there, the conversation turned to milder things, such as what movies were showing and when. The rest of the afternoon was spent in typical fashion, and by suppertime, most had forgotten about the lunchtime conversation._

_Except later that night..._

_"See you guys later! Bye!"_

_"Bye, Max! Bye, Ray!"_

_Kenny soon left as well, leaving Tyson and Kai in the park. Tyson sighed, looking up at the twilight of the sky. "That really does suck, though." His soft voice was a tad depressed, and it broke the comfortable silence._

_Kai glanced over but didn't bother to comment, knowing Tyson would explain himself._

_Sure enough, "I mean, there'll be the five of us and we'll hardly ever be able to see each other once school starts. I just know it! And I was really looking forward to us being able to stay in touch after high school. Darn."_

_Kai turned away again, prepared to head to his "home" as well. _

_"Hey, hold on, Kai!"_

_Kai froze in his tracks, closing his eyes and mentally groaning. Too much time spent with this group made him recognize that tone too well. Tyson was going to suggest something ridiculous and stupid. He braced himself._

_"How about if_ we _roomed together? Huh?"_

_He rested his head in his hand with sheer irritation. He knew it. Ridiculous and stupid._

_"Are you insane?" Kai bit out. "Why on earth would I want to live with you?"_

_Tyson looked a little hurt. "Um... because?"_

_Kai ground his teeth. "For that matter, why on earth would you want to live with me?"_

_Tyson shuffled his feet and looked abashed. "Well... because you're better than nothing?"_

_Kai glared._

_Tyson backed up, his hands rising defensively. "Hey! I'm a social guy – I need people around!"_

_"So room with Max." Figuring the conversation was over – at least by his standards – Kai began to leave again._

_Suddenly, Tyson ran in front of him and put his hands on his own hips. "What are you talking about? Max convinced Ray to let them share a dorm room."_

_Kai was taken slightly aback. "What? When?"_

_Tyson shrugged, still a little put out. "During the movie, actually, which would explain all of that whispering. I guess ever since Max hooked Ray onto "mustard with everything," Ray's decided that Max is destined for a career as a chef. So when Max promised to cook for Ray if he could stay with him..." Tyson trailed off._

_"I see." Kai did see, actually. He'd also seen the way that those two had been looking at each other the past couple of months. He mentally wished them luck, though he thought it was a little weird that two of his 'friends' would eventually hook up._

_"So that leaves you and me, then! Whaddaya say?" Tyson interrupted his train of thought, leaning forward excitedly._

_Kai, on the other hand, wasn't nearly as enthusiastic. "Tyson, I really don't think so..."_

_"Oh, come on! It'll be fun!"_

_"It will not. We wouldn't get along at all."_

_Tyson frowned. "What do you mean? We get along just fine."_

_Kai rolled his eyes at Tyson's thick head. "Idiot. The others are always around and can be used as a buffer between us."_

_Tyson bit his lip. "You really think so...?" _

_Kai drilled the point home. "Yes. Besides, you're loud, you snore, you're messy and you're accident-prone. If we lived together, I'd snap and kill you within the week."_

_Oddly enough, Tyson looked optimistic again. He raised his index finger to make a point. "Ah, but you already know my faults and what to expect. If you tried to get a room now, then you'd just be stuck with someone who would surprise you with their faults which would be even worse than mine!"_

_Kai had nothing to say to that, stunned that Tyson had made a vaguely rationally based argument. Tyson, though, grinned and began dragging him down the street to his house. "Come on, Kai! Let's look at some options now, ok?"_

_Still a little stunned, Kai let himself be towed. It was only after they'd set up at the computer and were looking at the selection that Kai realized something. He stood up abruptly and glowered down at a shocked Tyson._

_"Kai, watch it! You almost spilled the popcorn!" Tyson tossed a piece in his mouth, an expression of bliss coming across his face. "Mm... buttery goodness."_

_"This isn't funny, Tyson. And I get what you're trying to do."_

_Tyson stared upwards with an expression of desperate confusion. "Eat popcorn?" he hazarded._

_Kai crossed his arms. "You're pitying me. Well, it's not going to work! I don't have to stand for this – I'm fine on my own and I don't need you giving me unwanted sympathy!"_

_Finally realizing that it was Kai's pride that was acting up, Tyson immediately jumped to his feet. "No, Kai! That's not it at all! The truth is—"_

_"Save it, Tyson. I'm gone." Fully resolved and not a little irate, Kai moved to go – only to be stopped when Tyson grabbed his scarf._

_"Kai... please, just let me explain!"_

_Were there no depths to which Tyson would not sink to get under his skin! Kai's fists clenched at his sides, twitching in rage. "Let go!"_

_"Kai..."_

_"Now." The word was metallic steel, and it clicked into Tyson's ears like a loaded gun. His hands let go without his brain's consent. _

_"You don't understand; it's not anything like that!" Quickly recovering, Tyson ran in front of Kai for the second time that day, except now he was fully prepared for a fight. "The truth is..."_

_Kai's arms crossed again and he raised his eyebrows, still keeping the condescending sneer on his face. "The truth is...?"_

_Tyson's shoulders rose defensively as he blurted it out. "The truth is I don't want everyone to grow apart and then we'll lose touch with each other and I really don't want that to happen to us because you're my best friend and I don't want to lose you!" Speech done, Tyson subsided, his breath coming in sharp pants._

_Kai licked his lips, nervous. "Since when am_ I _your best friend?"_

_Tyson looked down. "Since... I dunno. That time on the ice...? I realized I didn't want to lose you and..." He shrugged. "Anyway, that's the reason. It really wasn't pity or anything like that."_

_Kai thought about it, uncertain, but then nodded hesitantly. "All right, then. I guess we could try it out..." He almost didn't say that last bit, too scared of actually continuing an emotional relationship. Emotions still didn't come easily to him, even years down the road._

_The effect on Tyson was immediate. His head flew up and he grinned wide enough to circle the sun. "Really! That's great! Thanks, Kai!" _

_Kai retreated into back into his mental shell, frowning. "I'm paying for half of everything, though. No one's going to have a reason to feel sorry for me."_

_"Yeah, sure. We can split everything, ok?"_

_Kai considered that. That was ... fair. Kai hadn't had much fairness in his life, so he appreciated it when things turned out that way. He hid a smile, returning to settle in the chair and continue house hunting. This might not be as bad as he thought.

* * *

_Back in the present, Kai sipped his coffee, wincing at the bitter taste. As Tyson had feared, the other three had gradually drifted apart from Tyson and Kai. While they certainly weren't strangers, it was rare that Tyson or Kai would see Max, Ray, and Kenny. Oh, they met up a couple times a year and caught up with enthusiastic glee (Kai excepted, of course), but it was as if they'd all found their respective niches with the new friends that had come with them. And that was okay.

As for Tyson and Kai...

Tyson's habits had taken some getting used to, especially once he grew accustomed to Kai's presence and fell out of "guest-in-the-house" mode. In fact, it was rare in their first year when there wasn't some sort of underlying domestic feud going on between them.

In the second month, for instance, Tyson had left his slippers in the bathroom near a puddle for almost a week. The resulting mouldy smell, combined with Tyson's naturally strong foot odour, had left Kai gagging. When Tyson came home that night, he found his door shut and the window wide open – letting the cold, crisp air of winter into his room and around the slippers that were placed on the bed. It made the room cold enough, actually, that Tyson had needed to plug in four heaters and sleep on the couch for three days before his room returned to normal.

In the fourth month, Tyson had started to play his stereo loudly. Kai tolerated it for nine days before speaking to Tyson about it. Tyson had shrugged and dismissed him, saying something about "payback for you hogging the computer to surf online. A guy's gotta have _something_ to do when he can't check his e-mails." Kai had blinked, confused (he _never_ "surfed." It was a methodical searching of relative information! And besides, he _needed_ to check his webcomics) before shrugging and turning in for the night. The next day, though, Tyson's stereo had been programmed to accept a password in order for it to work – which Kai had accidentally "forgotten."

For Christmas, they'd both decided to split the cost of a laptop.

Still, once they'd gotten used to each other, their lives had gone surprisingly smoothly. Today, as they neared the end of their respective bachelor degrees, it was almost second nature for one to wake the other, or for the other to make dinner for two.

He'd known this for a while, but living with Tyson was ... pretty tolerable. His workload, though...

He sipped the coffee again, opened his gritty eyes and set to typing.

Four paragraphs later, the door to their apartment slammed open and shut, jarring Kai out of his academic stupor. Fingers pausing on the keyboard, he turned and looked at an enraged Tyson.

Opening his mouth to grunt a question, Kai yawned instead. "Mrr?"

"I do _not_ believe it! I don't!" Tyson ranted, ripping his coat off and throwing his shoes against the door before storming over to the couch and threw himself on it. "The _nerve_ of that... that... feebleminded, lame-brained, cankerous, beslubbering, bawdy, addlepated, codpiece-sniffing, toad-spotted, fen-sucked _giglet_! Gaargh!"

Kai turned to face him, even more inquisitive than before. Tyson had switched to Shakespeare? This _was_ going to be interesting: Kai had only heard Tyson this mad once, when the couple on the floor above them hadn't stopped making their bed thump all night (and sometimes during the day) for the entire month leading up to and during finals. Admittedly, Tyson had probably overreacted in calling them 'rump-fed, onion-eyed, lecherous, swine-filled measles," but the expressions on the newly-wedded couple's faces had been more than worth the previous disruptions.

Many people had learned to fear the overly tired and stressed-out second year University student that day. Kai let his head fall to the side as he looked at Tyson.

"Mm?"

Tyson glared at him. "As for _you_! I ..." he lost whatever he was going to say. "Never mind." He crossed his arms and tried to level the wall across from him with a burning stare.

Kai glanced at the clock. It was only midnight – he could afford to take a little break. He got up, wincing as his bones creaked and popped loudly. Shuffling slowly over to Tyson, he flopped down beside him, accidentally using Tyson's chest as a prop-up to keep him from falling onto the couch and into sleep. "Whazzrong?" he murmured, his body continuing to shut down as the night wore on.

Tyson shot him a pent-up look of ... something, before snorting and jerking away to move a foot down the couch. Without the support, Kai could only blink in startled shock before he fell face-down onto the cushions. Stunned, he lay there, feeling himself fall asleep. The cushions smelled good... like... home-cooked brownies.

Kai closed his eyes, face burying deeper into his new pillow. That was right; Tyson had made brownies last week. Amazing that the smell still lingered, really...

In the black haze that he sunk gratefully into, Kai heard Tyson's voice overlaid with exasperation. "Oh, gimme a _break_...! For the love of—Oi. Kai. Come on, get up."

Kai moaned in protest. It was sleep-time. He needed a break after this brutal week and—

A firm, warm hand dragged him up by the neck of his shirt. Kai's head lolled back with the movement before he could stop it, but then felt himself shoved onto the floor. Hard.

He let out a pained grunt, more startled awake than anything, but... "Tyson? What the crap was that for?"

Tyson had gone back to glowering, his eyes flashing. "Shut up, Kai."

Well, he was fully awake now. "What was that?" If Tyson wanted to fight, that was fine. He had a few choice words for him that he'd been saving up.

Tyson opened his mouth to shout something back, but then just deflated. "Nah, it's not your fault, man. I'm sorry. It's just..."

Kai slowly moved back onto the couch, actually awake in concern for his roommate. "What happened anyway?"

Tyson breathed heavily, glad to get the story out. "Ok. Ok! So it's Friday night, right? And so I head over to my prof's house to help him with the curriculum, right? You remember I told you about it? You know, for my English class...?" Tyson looked questioningly at Kai, who blinked and shrugged, clueless.

"Oh. Well, anyway, so I get there and things are fine and that cute daughter of his is there. Actually, she's really more like _drop dead gorgeous_ and so I'm trying to flirt with her without actually letting her dad – the prof, right? – know about it because I don't know he'd feel about it. Anyway, so things are going really well, and I get her number at the end of the night – I think it's in my pocket," Tyson paused and rummaged around in his cargo pants. "Right! Here it is! And see? She put this cute l'il heart on it and everything. She's so sweet."

Kai looked at him. It was way too late for Tyson's rambling stories. "Tyson? Did you have a point?"

The smile wiped itself off of Tyson's face and he returned to scowling. "Yes, I did. _Anyway_, I was coming home and I accidentally run into this guy, right? And so I apologize and stuff, 'cause I didn't want to start anything, and this guy just looks at me. And I'm thinkin' 'Ok, this could go either way,' when he gets this _look_ on his face. So I'm like, 'What's goin' on?'"

Kai leaned forward unconsciously, sensing the climax was close. To his surprise, Tyson shifted a little further down the couch, away from him. Kai blinked in encroaching fatigued confusion as Tyson fidgeted a little, before taking a deep breath and continuing on with his story.

"Ok. So this guy's got this look on his face and then – oh! I can_not _believe what he called me!" Tyson's hair was ruffled viciously as his hands mangled themselves into the strands.

Kai sighed. "What. Did. He. Call. You?"

Tyson fidgeted again, as if he were uncomfortable. "He said... he said..." he finished the rest of the sentence in a quick mutter. "HecalledmeafaggotandsaidthatIwasgay."

"What?" Kai needed clarification on that last bit.

"That's _exactly_ what _I_ said!" Tyson waved his arms emphatically. "I am _not_ gay! I'm _not_! I don't know what _he_ was on, but really! Aargh!"

"What? He said you were gay?" Now Kai's surprise was genuine. "Why on earth would he say that?"

Tyson shrugged and went back to fuming. "I dunno. Jerk."

"So what'd you do?"

Tyson smirked and gave Kai a thumbs up. "I yelled at him, punched him out, and ran away. Of course." He laughed at Kai's dumbfounded expression.

There was a moment's pause, and then...

"The thing is, though..." Tyson shot a nervous glance at Kai.

"What?"

"Well, the thing is..." Tyson seemed to brace himself for something, but the chiming of the clock as it hit 12:30 cut him off. Tyson seemed startled for a second, before jumping up, laughing nervously. "Oh, wow! It's that late already? Wow! Hahaha! I guess I'd... better get to bed!"

Even Kai, in his confused fatigue, could tell the smile Tyson wore was entirely false. "Wait, Tyson. Just what—"

"G'nite, Kai!" And with a blur, Tyson rushed off to his room.

Kai, meanwhile, stared at the empty space where Tyson had been for a few minutes. Then, body weary beyond belief, he grabbed a nearby blanket and collapsed again face-first into the couch.

Unconcerned with the rest of the world, he happily fell asleep to the smell of home-cooked brownies.

* * *

TBC

* * *

**A/N:** You know what's fun? Friends who act like a married couple and who are so perfect for each other but don't realize it. grins

Wow, though. This was _going_ to be a sweet one-shot for V-Day. As it is, it's turning into a two-parter. Ah,well. More bishie-time, I guess. (TyKa! W00t!)

Also: Please **review**, as I'll actually be able to _answer_ those reviews in the next chapter – my fav part! Yay!


	2. The Middle

**(Again, long intro. I have no excuse, nor plan to create one. Long chapter, too!)**

Wack! I forgot to do the **Disclaimer: **Umm… not mine. Nor ever will be. The odds are more likely that I will inherit the whales of the Earth when I'm 165 years old. So there.

**A/N**: This was going to be the last chapter. I tried really, really hard to make it so. But when the story hit 21 pages, I had to stop. My fingers were hurting and Kai refused to reveal insights about his inner workings. But! I'm still working on the story and the third (last!) part is halfway done!  
But seriously? Thank you everyone for your encouragement! 'Twas most appreciated! And now I shall continue

**Note:** For those of you who are interested or unaware, university classes have a much larger workload than high school. Some interesting facts:

In University, the basic rule of thumb is three hours of work for every hour of class time. Five classes, then, gives a total of 45 hours a week – not including the class time itself. Additionally, most science classes have these little things called 3-HOUR LABS, which also require about 3 hours of preparatory time. A full course load requires 45 hours of class work, plus 15 hours of class time, plus 15 hours of lab work, plus another 15 hours of lab prep. Each week. Minimum.

Kai is thus running, every single week, at 90 hours of total school time (not including the additional hours of studying for midterms, etc) just to keep on top of things. This is rather interesting, because a full-time job is 40 hours a week. Further comparison: each Grade 12 class (again, basic rule of thumb) is an hour of extra work for each class. Each University class is four hours (+lab time) of extra work for each class. Fun! Oh, and don't even get me _started_ on the grading curve, all right?

Now that we've established that Kai is an idiot for taking five 300-level Science classes with labs, let's move on, shall we? ((grins)) (Tyson, by the way, without labs, would be running at 60 hours a week – busy and hectic, but still mostly manageable.)

**Warnings:  
**TyKa goodness! ... or badness, depending on your pov.  
The effects of extreme sleep deprivation! (Information references will be found at the bottom of the story.)  
Misunderstandings and subsequent "you-idiot!"angst!

* * *

**Review Answers: **Again, thank you very much. There are so many nice people out there!

**CheekyRhbadcat**: Ah, thank you for the review! In fact, you get the "_first_ review award!" Rock on! And thank you for your words! ((grins)) I hope you continue to like.

**Lunare Valhart**: Ok, just so's you know? Your review made me grin like an _idiot_ for an entire day – and it came just when I needed it! So, thank you for that! Also, thank you for the input on the MD fic! ((laughs)) Man, I haven't worked on it in ages – guess I'd better get started again, huh? And wow – I've never heard _anyone_ say that I almost made them go fangirl-mush-happiness, so thank you! You're so nice! As for the fic itself: Yes. Kai is a sleep-deprived idiot. Let's all throw things at him! ((chucks various things)) Sleep deprivation is eeeevil – I guess I had messed up my sleep schedule enough to actually send the word out. ((shrugs)) Whatever, I guess. I really would like to hear any constructive criticism you have to say! Thankies for enjoying, and hope you continue to do so!

**Yami Firekali:** Hey! Thought I'd tell you (b/c apparently I am incapable of review time) that I shrieked in ecstasy when I found two new chapters on "Majesty"! I totally wasn't expecting Daichi at _all_! As for the TyKa, well, you still leave me stunned at your insight. Actually, whenever I find myself wondering how someone would react, I tend to think of your fics, so thank you very, very much. Your writing is amazing and I am deeply in your debt that you bothered to review this story! You're wonderful and so all praises go to you! Hope you like this chapter – can you guess which part I wrote, blushing crazily, at one in the morning?

**Fireiegrl**: Wheee! I'm glad you liked the story! Don't they just _totally_ act like a married couple? That was exactly the attitude I was going for – I'm glad to see someone comment on it! Glad you liked the chapter – there will be TyKa, although Kai has to be a sleep-deprived idiot first. ((continues to throw things at Kai)) Hope you enjoy!

**TechnoRanma**: ((glomps the daylights out of you)) YOU LOVED IT! That's so excellent – it totally made my day, and I'm grinning even as I type this! I love your reviews! Thank you! ((reads more review)) Ouch – midterm week in university, huh? That _is_ nasty. I entirely sympathize, though I'm kinda happy that I'm sure you'll be able to relate to the sleep deprivation of people on campus. ((blinks)) That sounded way wrong. Hmm. Ah well. And ooh! You liked the flashbacks? I'm so glad! Let it be known that I threw in an extra flashback in this chappie – just for you! Here's your update, you wonderful writer, you. Will you join me in tossing things at Kai's idiotic, cute head? ((grins)) Hope you enjoy!

**Keri Arishima**: Thank you for the review – I'm glad you love this story! I updated it as soon as I could, and I'm on page 12 of Chapter three already, so I'm really working hard on this story. ((gapes at the size)) Can you _believe_ I was trying to make this a one-shot? Gaaah. Anyway, hope you enjoy!

**Kaay-chan**: Eee! ((glomps back)) Thank you for the review! And I _vow_ to finish the story – the last chapter is in the process of being written, so that's a good start, right? Hope you like the story (what's your story about?).

**Kiina**: Ah, thank you for the review! I'm so glad you like this story! I'm glad you can relate to Kai – actually, I _was_ basing a lot of things that happen to him on me, too! ((sighs)) The coffee, the sleep deprivation, all that good stuff. Which, of course, is bad. I'm just glad you haven't gotten sucked into the world of caffeine. Do you _realize_ how much it costs these days? ((realizes she sounds like a whiny old granny)) Whoops. Ah, well. Hope you enjoy the story!

**Vampyre Neko**: Ooh! I'm on your alert list, _and_ I got a review? You rock! I'm glad you liked the story, and I rushed to get it out asap. Of course, my beta-reader and I are both swamped at the moment, so I apologize for the wait. Hope you enjoy!

**Mikin Ishida**: You know, for some reason I am totally in love with your username. ((shakes herself out of it)) Anyway, thank you for the review! I'm so glad you found it cute – and here are 21 more pages of fiction for you to (hopefully) enjoy. Thank you again!

**marble eyes**: Thank you for the review! ((melts)) I'm so happy you found it sweet. ((giggles)) Yes, I _wonder_ if Tyson likes Kai. Ohhh, the suspense. (/sarcasm) Man, I am SO going to make them together, despite Kai being an idiot. Here's your update – hope you enjoy!

**Ellen**: Ah, yes. Friends that interact like Tyson and Kai do are so much fun. Muahaha. Thank you for the review, btw! Let us all feel sorry for Kai – though he _is_ in biology b/c he wants to be, that area is sooo evil for the memory work and the labs. ((sticks tongue out in nonetheless-fond reminiscence)) Here's the next chapter, and I hope you enjoy!

* * *

**Dedication:** To LWK, who made me laugh so many times during the writing process with her comments on Chapter One. I will now share my favourite:  
"Your world is shaking, Kai? Yes! That's because Tyson will _rock your world_!"  
And, when I couldn't decide on whether to keep Kai's face triangles and scarf, said, "You could compromise and just keep the triangles. ...You know, that gives Tyson easier access to Kai's neck and...((finds her face slowly start to heat up as she drools in appreciation))."  
To Lady Gal! May you find the world-shaking, easy-neck-access part of this story – wherever you decide it is. (I _swear_ there are too many moments.)

**Additional Notes: **Hint for the confused reader: If you don't get why people are reacting the way they are, please remember that Kai's viewpoint is seriously screwed up. Try to look at what the situation looks like from a normal point of view (aka: Tyson, to name just one.)

Please enjoy!

**WtNtLtD  
**Chapter Two

It had been two weeks. He thought. Did he? It didn't feel that way. Kai felt like he didn't have a brain anymore. He was a base creature of mere sensation without thought, without imagination, without rationalization.

He _felt_ the backpack digging in, the helpful padding on the straps merely making more fabric bite at him. He _felt_ the stress-caused sweat slide down his skin, whether it lay under his clothes or exposed to the clammy air. He _felt_ his left? right? eye twitch rhythmically, sporadically, distracting him from the bright glaring whiteness of...

Of what? The sun? The empty computer screen? The snow? Kai didn't know anymore.

He _felt_ that constant ball of stress within him wind tighter and tighter in his too-small chest. The deeply rooted cords were everywhere within him, making his body twitch spasmodically. When he didn't twitch, he shook, but he typed more than he shook, but...

Kai _felt_ the eyes of the other students on him. He realized – without actually caring – that he'd been standing in the middle of the crowded hallway for a long time.

What had he been doing?

Working? Studying? Practicing?

Maybe he'd been beyblading. Training for an upcoming championship. Against Tyson? That sounded right. Yeah, maybe...

Except when he reached into his pocket for Dranzer, his beyblade wasn't there.

Sudden panic seared white-hot through him and he started shaking. He felt the stress explode through his body. It reared up into his throat, blocking his airway and he was choking, choking, _choking,_ couldn't get enough air, he was going to die...

The lint-spotted, faded carpet suddenly jumped up and swallowed him whole, engulfing Kai in blackness.

* * *

"—ank you, doctor. I'll tell him." 

"Mr. Kinomiya, I really think we need to keep him overnight for observation. His symptoms are extremely worrisome. Do you know how long he's been pushing himself like this?"

Warm and secure for the first time in an eternity, Kai didn't move, merely accustoming himself to the voices that were swimming in the dark. He imagined them to be protozoa, complete with their floppy flagellates that wriggled foolishly. He thought about smiling at the image, but by the time he'd dredged up the energy, the urge was gone. So he just lay there, unable to move and unwilling to do so.

"How long? It's got to be at least a month and a half now."

"What do you mean, Mr. Kinomiya?"

"Well, y'see, Kai decided to take five science classes this semester, and since they've picked up he's been driving himself hard."

"I see."

"Is he..." The voice spoke up tentatively, then paused as if afraid. "Is he going to be okay?"

"_Only_ if he gets some rest. I won't lie to you, Mr. Kinomiya. Mr. Hiwatari's reached the point where it's not possible for him to continue without sleep. His very life is in immediate danger, and then there's the long-term damage to his body that has come from this. We're talking short-term memory impairment, psychosis, delayed reaction time, lowered immune system, hallucinations, lowered hormone secretions, increased risk of diabetes, to name just a few." The voice trailed off.

Stricken silence assailed the warm darkness that Kai basked in. Then a hushed whisper spoke up, the speaker sounding near tears. "Poor Kai. He's been trying so hard..."

The deeper voice spoke up, sounding more concerned than before. "Mr. Kinomiya, are you alright? Would you like a moment alone with patient?"

The whispering voice hitched, then rose in pitch. "It's not fair! All Kai's _wanted_ ever since high school was to work in microbiology! I remember – I remember he told me one night that he wanted to examine diseases so that he could help protect the lives of everyone, and maybe that way he could make up for the damage Voltaire did! He was so serious, so _intense_ about it – I just know it's what he needs to do. He _wants_ to do it, just like I _want_ to teach everyone and help them learn! I don't want people to take advantage of anyone, and if the kids can learn then they might not need that second chance that Kai needed! And now you're telling me that he might die? Oh, no. No. No! He can't die! That can't happen, I won't let it! I _need_—" The passionate, tear-filled voice suddenly cut off with a click, as if the teeth had literally bit off what the mouth had been going to say.

There was another silence, somehow filled with the sound of someone trying very hard to stop crying.

It continued for quite a while.

Finally, the second voice began, appeasing. "Please do not concern yourself, Mr. Kinomiya. As long as Mr. Hiwatari gets plenty of rest and tries to take it easy, he'll recover fine. After all, his medical record shows he has a strong recovery rate. You live with him, don't you? ... Mr. Kinomiya?"

"Y-yeah," the other replied, the voice roughened and distracted by something.

"Excellent. Now, I hope it's not too much to ask, but if you could just give these to him? They're a form of relaxant and will hopefully alleviate some of the stress."

"Kai? Pills? I don't think so. He's, like, anti-pill man." A watery laugh sounded.

"Nonetheless..."

Stress? Why would he be stressed? Tuning out the voices, Kai floated peaceably within his black pool in slow thought. Dranzer was safe at home, he'd just remembered. Along with...

Kai gasped, thrown brutally back into cold reality. His data! The paperwork! He still had to write it up! What on earth was he doing, lying in bed? What sort of lazy idiot was he? He'd always thought his self-control was stronger than this, but obviously he'd been mistaken.

Frenetically, he began moving, trying desperately to get out of the tangling sheets of the bed and over to the computer area. He had work to do. He had to—

"Kai, calm down."

The soothing, familiar voice whispered into his ear, the hot breath that accompanied it making the hairs on his neck rise. The panic from earlier seemed to just dissipate and he groggily opened his eyes, yawning. He let his eyes take in – with increasing bewilderment – the features of this strange room.

The bed had rails on the side, for one thing, and the covers were thick and wooly. Despite the sweaty heat of the bed, his face was the hottest, his right cheek pulsing dry warmth. He traced the comforting heat back to its source, surprised when he discovered it lay with Tyson's hand. And Tyson's face was mere inches away, shimmering happily in relief.

Kai blinked slowly and yawned again, reluctantly feeling the gritty fatigue catch up to him. Was Tyson hot, too? Was that why his face was all red? Kai opened his mouth to tell him that sharing body heat only made people hotter, so Tyson should take his hand away to be more comfortable. He started to speak, but was interrupted by Tyson, who suddenly stood up, crossed his arms, and glared.

Kai felt like pouting. That was _his_ bad-boy pose.

"So, Kai, how are you feeling?"

Kai felt very, very cold, especially under Tyson's glare. He tried huddling under the blankets, but they weren't warm anymore. And besides, Tyson's chilly voice seemed to be _everywhere_, spreading through his body the second it leaked into his ears.

"Do you know where you are?" Tyson continued.

Kai was surprised when things remained unfrozen, despite Tyson's voice. He frowned. Tyson was making him _cold. _He didn't like the cold! Tyson should stop this. He glared upwards, silently willing Tyson to be warm again.

Tyson twitched. "You, Mr. Hiwatari, are in the campus' hospital area. The emergency ward, to be exact. _Apparently, _you decided to collapse in the middle of the hallway." Tyson bent down, grabbing the bed rails until his knuckles were shot with white. "Do you know that the professor interrupted the Shakespeare class because he'd just gotten a pager message that my roommate seemed to be on the verge of a bloody _coma_?"

Kai stared upwards, bemused. Tyson was all red again, and his voice was cracked and hot. It was a nicer change than that cold frostiness from earlier. Very nice. Maybe he could go back to sleep…

"Don't you _dare_ close your eyes on _me_! Do you _know_ what I went through, Kai? When they showed you to me, and you were lying so still on the bed?" Tyson's voice turned anguished. Something wet fell onto Kai's face, and he roused himself again. This was obviously important to Tyson, so he should probably pay attention. Absently, Kai wondered if Tyson knew his eyes were leaking.

"Kai, you just –" Tyson suddenly broke off, turning to the side as he closed his eyes and bit his lip. More fluid leaked from his eyes and Kai summoned his energy to sit up. As if in slow motion and from far away, he watched his hand shakily travel to Tyson's face. His fingers gently rested on the heat from Tyson's face, brushing against the clear tracks the cold fluid was taking down the cheeks.

Almost immediately, those burning brown eyes shot open again and Tyson jerked around. Kai lost his grip right away, but his hand was caught before it could fall back down to the bed. He could feel it being gripped strongly, warmly, between Tyson's hands as Tyson's eyes seemed to stare at him, confusedly.

Tyson wanted something, it seemed. Kai let his head slump back against the pillow and waited, sure that Tyson would tell him. Tyson told him everything, after all, whether Kai wanted to hear it or not.

"Kai…" Tyson licked his lips.

Kai worked his throat, successfully producing a questioning-type noise.

Another pause, and then Tyson seemed to shake off whatever the problem was, giving him a shaky grin instead. "You know you look like death warmed over, right?"

Kai shut his eyes, uncaring now that Tyson seemed to be okay. If there weren't any immediate crises, then he could go back to sleep.

He didn't know how long it was before he jolted awake again. His assignments! Forcing his body to move, Kai slowly got out of bed, shying away from the cold metal of the sidebars. Once out of the bed, he wobbled for a moment, fighting off the sudden vertigo that assailed him. Three deep breaths later, he moved over to the table, where his clothes were. Stupid hospital gowns. He could practically feel the five-inch gap at the back.

Glancing over to make sure the door was closed, Kai quickly set about stripping down and putting on his regular outfit: Black jeans, red silk turtleneck, his trustworthy leather vest, and the phoenix chain he'd received for Christmas. He sighed, feeling better already.

Kai was just bending over to tie up his bootlaces when the door opened. He stiffened automatically, his mind already working on offensive strategies. Steps sounded, and then a resigned sigh wafted through the room.

"Kai…"

Ah, it was Tyson. Kai should have recognized him by the aroma – Tyson had to be the only one who wore that particular brand of cologne.

Still, the fact that it was Tyson and not a doctor made this easier – or harder, as it were. It would be harder to obtain official permission from the doctors, but he could probably convince them he was fine. With Tyson, Kai would be able to forego the permission slip, but Tyson knew Kai well enough to tell when he was faking it.

Decisions, decisions.

Tyson, however, interrupted his thoughts. "Shouldn't you be, you know, _resting_?"

Kai concentrated on finishing tying his boots before he rose and smirked at Tyson. He had decided on the perfect approach: cynical ambiguity. "What do _you_ think?" Then he moved forward as his opponent opened his mouth to indignantly reply. He kept his strides smooth and his smirk firmly in place as he crossed the floor. It was all about appearances. Convince himself, and he could convince Tyson. He had to.

Without hesitation, he shouldered his way into Tyson's personal space. Backing his rival up against the wall, he slammed his hands on either side of Tyson's face. His smirk widened. "Not that you do. Think, that is."

Tyson's face turned red, apparently horribly wounded by Kai's rather predictable insult. His mouth worked for a minute without letting anything come out, before gulping. "K-Kai? What… what are you doing?"

Kai watched as Tyson licked his lips, filing away the inexplicable nervousness for further investigation when he could actually think. "What am I doing?" he repeated condescendingly. Kai moved in closer than usual until his face was mere inches away. He noted again that Tyson had half-closed his eyes – which made no sense until Kai figured out that it was so Tyson could focus better. He _was_ pretty close, after all. "I'm telling you, Tyson, to ­_back off.­_" He drew back, letting his eyes turn hard.

Tyson's face was a study in shock and hurt. Kai firmly squished the guilt that was bubbling violently within, instead crossing his arms firmly. With a cold expression, he watched as Tyson struggled to get a grip on his own emotions. Sniffling a couple times and swallowing, Tyson brought a hand up to wipe his eyes. "You…" Tyson started, before sniffing again.

Kai frowned, watching Tyson calculatingly. Had he gone too far? He'd merely meant to get Tyson off his back, not actually wound him. In the recesses of his mind, he'd willingly admit that Tyson was the only one he trusted, and the most important person in his life. He'd never had many he'd considered his friends for reasons he liked to ignore, and if Tyson left…

"Kai." Tyson's voice slapped through his thoughts. Without changing his expression to show he'd been caught off-guard, Kai quickly returned to reality. Tyson was shaking his head in a way that promised rotten spinach-fish casserole later that night. Kai resisted the urge to swallow nervously. He _had_ gone too far.

"You're really something, aren't you? A real Picasso masterpiece. King Leontes would gain pointers from talking to you (1)." Tyson shook his head ruefully. "You're nasty and cold and inconsiderate, even more so since you haven't been sleeping."

Kai moved to leave, ignoring the stabbing pain that was cheerfully choking him again. Halfway to the door, though, he found he couldn't move. Turning his head slowly, he found his arm being held in Tyson's firm grip. Confused, he looked at Tyson.

Tyson looked knowingly at him. "I get what _you're_ doing, Mr. Hiwatari. You can't fool me. You want to leave, don't you? And you figured that by being your normal jerk-self, you can convince me that you're fine and so can run home and do all your homework like a good little boy, right?"

Kai, left with precious few options, glared. For emphasis, he half-heartedly tugged at his arm to try to get it free.

Tyson moved closer, his voice growing oddly husky. "I can see right through you, Hiwatari."

Kai snorted. "Then you can probably see that I'm about to break your arm in three seconds unless you let go."

Tyson paused and blinked. "Uh... I do now!" He immediately let go of Kai, backing up and grinning disarmingly. "Sorry!"

"Hn." Now free, Kai moved towards the door. A minute and a half later, he became aware of Tyson's continued presence behind him. Pausing in the hallway, he set himself and turned around. "What are you doing?"

Tyson blinked innocently. "What are _you_ doing?"

"What kind of question is that?"

"What do you mean?"

"What do you mean what do I mean?"

"Why are you shouting?"

"Why are _you_ shouting?"

"What's your favourite colour?"

"What?" Kai took a step back in puzzlement. (2)

Tyson grinned at him. "I was just seeing how long we could answer each question with another question. How'd we do?"

A doctor passed them. "Well, you've successfully managed to disturb the patients along this entire hallway. Could you please leave?" He shot them a look that plainly showed his irritation.

Kai coughed. "Ah… our apologies."

Tyson grabbed his arm, shooting an apologetic look at the tired doctor. "Come on, Kai."

"Tyson, I _was_ going."

"Yeah, but you were going the wrong way. The car's this way."

Kai almost stopped, and was dragged a couple of feet when Tyson kept moving quickly. "What? You brought the _car_? Tyson, we live seventeen minutes away!"

Tyson assumed an aristocratic air. "Well, for _your_ information, sir, I didn't know what kind of condition you were in. For all I knew, you'd broken your legs when you collapsed."

'That's an extreme assumption."

"I'm sure it's happened to _somebody_ before. And besides, if that had happened, I certainly wasn't going to carry you that entire way. I mean, I've hauled you around before, but certainly not with recently set bones and heavy casts."

Kai rolled his eyes. "Now who's being paranoid?"

Tyson stuck out his tongue. "Bite me."

"Very mature. That reminds me; did you get to go grocery shopping yet?"

"Yup! Coffee's all stocked up!"

Kai smirked. "Excellent."

Tyson gave him an incredulous look. "Don't tell me you're going to break out into maniacal laughter now."

"No, that comes later - when you're asleep."

"You _are_ going to get some sleep though, right?"

"There's only a week and a half until the long weekend. If I can last until then, I'll be better."

"A week and a half? The doctor said you needed sleep, like, _now_!"

Kai scowled. "Then the doctor should try explaining to the profs and the TA's that you can't hand in the material on time simply because you need to _sleep_. It's not happening, Tyson." (3)

The two of them clattered down the metallic steps to the sidewalk. They stopped a minute at the bottom so that Tyson could glance around for where he left the car. In that time, Kai became aware of that familiar dry warmth on his arm.

"...Tyson?"

"Hey! Found it! Car's this way, Kai. Let's go." They started walking again, with Tyson seemingly oblivious to the fact his arm was wound around Kai's own arm with the strength of a boa constrictor.

"Tyson?"

"Hmm... yeah?" Tyson shot him a glance, then returned to checking for the Parking Services car. After all, they were known to hover around cars like vultures, waiting for the paid minutes to tick away before slapping a heavy fine immediately onto the windshield.

"Why are you still holding onto my arm?"

"I'm making sure you don't collapse." Tyson shot him a peeved look. "_Again_."

Kai tugged his arm free. "I told you that I'm fine."

"If you say you so. Which, by the way, you didn't. And don't think you're off the hook that easy! You have some _serious_ making up with me to do after this little stunt!"

Tyson was glaring at him, and it didn't look like anything short of a groveling apology was going to appease him. Kai sighed. It was going to be a long night.

* * *

Depending on how you looked at it, it was either Monday night or Tuesday morning. It was really relative. In cases like this, Kai mused, you had to ignore the glaring lights of the digital watch and look at the moon. 

Of course, that would mean ignoring modern technology and depending on the past. That in itself was really pretty ironic. After all, there he was, a biology major who depended on modern inventions to study floaty microorganisms. Then again, floaty small things had been around practically since the Earth was formed. Or something like that.

Kai felt like snickering, but then wasted his energy shivering in the crisp winter air. Under his feet, the small amount of snow crunched, tracking his slow progress home. None of that mattered, though, because there were three days before the November long weekend. Then, maybe, he could sleep…

If only he could get his assignments _done_ before then!

He found himself stumbling against the door to his home before he could stop himself. Instead of wasting time trying to figure out how he'd gotten there, he made a feeble attempt at remembering where he'd put his keys.

The door opened then, pitching him forward for the umpteenth time. Instead of the comfy Tyson pillow he normally landed against, though, he found himself out of breath on the muddy floor of their little entryway.

Temporarily winded, Kai gasped for air, his brain shooting wide-awake as it struggled with the sudden shock. Gasping turned into a sudden coughing spell as his developing cold decided to show itself. Unable to stop, Kai coughed and _coughed_, curling up into a ball on the floor, wracked with spasms. And yet, through it all, he felt disjointed from his body. The skin that scraped against the floor hurt, but it wasn't his hurt. The shivers that raced around his limbs tingled and made little needles jab into his skin weren't actually in his body.

Why was there so much pain then? He clenched the eyes shut, hoping that would make things stop.

"Kai?"

Ahhh, there was the warmth, pulling him in. Still shivering and shuddering with coughs, Kai desperately reached out for the warmth, not caring where it came from as long as it could make the pain _stop_. It seemed to oblige, and soon Kai found himself sitting, nearly surrounded with heat: below him, across him, above him, rubbing up and down soothingly.

Gradually, he found he could breathe again, the coughs lessening in frequency until they disappeared entirely. Kind of like the solution when it dissolved the concentrate on the bottom. Or was that the bacteria?

Kai burrowed deeper into the warmth, letting his mind drift where it would. He didn't care. He was sleepy, he was tired, he was all forms of worn out and he didn't _care_ anymore. He didn't! He didn't care that the warmth had developed a worried voice, didn't care that he was whimpering like a child, didn't care about the fluid that was leaking from his _own_ eyes now; he just wanted this stressful life to _stop_! Why couldn't it? It wasn't fair!

But it should have been fair, right? After all, living with Tyson was fair, so that should have made his life fair by mere association.

Where was Tyson, anyway? Didn't he always greet him these days, ready with a life-saving cup of coffee and a smile? Kai wandered along that train of thought for a minute, then mentally dismissed the matter. He'd find Tyson later. Right now, he'd enjoy this warm moment, then get up and do his work, and _then_ he'd find Tyson. Yeah… that sounded good.

Feeling ready to get up at a moment's notice, Kai settled further into sleep. Maybe he should review that plan again. What was it? He'd wait a couple of minutes, and then he'd… he'd get up, right, and then he'd work. And Tyson was in there too, somewhere, wasn't he?

Still enjoying the warmth that ran up and down his back, Kai nestled further into his pillow. Had he ever noticed how nice it smelled before? It was really distinctive, but really hard to actually define. He knew he'd run across it before, though. But where?

Hmm…

It didn't matter, really. It was warm, and it was soft, and it smelled really good and there was more dry warmth right on his face and something soft was brushing his cheek with the lightest of sensations…

Wait, no. That was touch, and touch was bad unless it was someone he trusted, and that was only Tyson, but Tyson wasn't here and so…

Thoroughly annoyed at having his rest interrupted, he groggily opened sleep-fogged eyes.

Russet eyes encompassed his entire vision for precious minutes. They seemed to be frozen and wide open in shock, though Kai couldn't imagine why. Gradually, though, the eyes moved away and resolved into an equally red face.

What?

Waitaminute…

"'son?" Kai croaked, surprised. Tyson had been here the whole time! Well, check one thing off his list. He guessed he didn't need to look for Tyson after all. Yay for productivity.

But if Tyson had been here, then that had been Tyson before. Right? Maybe? He would check, Kai decided. Clearing his throat, he asked, "Was that you?"

Tyson's face, oddly enough, got even redder. "Um… was what me?"

Kai frowned. _He_ was supposed to be interrogating, not the other way around! "Before," Kai grumped, exasperated. "With the … thingy. Cheek."

Tyson froze in shock, his eyes opening even further as his voice cracked in surprise. "You were awake for that? I mean," Tyson also cleared his throat and tried again. "You were awake for that?"

"Mmm." Kai swiped at his eyes, scratching away the itch.

"Oh. Well, I can explain! You see… ah. Um. Well. The thing is…" Tyson started hyperventilating, and Kai suddenly found his secure perch start jostling. After several seconds of rampant confusion, he realized he was being moved _because_ he was firmly nestled in Tyson's lap.

He shifted, suddenly uncomfortable. This was … odd. They were friends and all, but this seemed a little bit too intimate, as if they were something more. Aware that he was turning red and extremely annoyed that he was doing so, Kai squirmed out of Tyson's lap and on to the couch instead. Better.

Wait, though. Tyson still hadn't answered his question. He let his eyes drift over to Tyson again, expectant. "Well?"

Tyson had frozen, his eyes downcast. At Kai's question, he shakily looked up, then licked his lips. "What? Oh, before? I was just… uh… looking at your tattoos. On … on your face. With my fingers. Not my lips. Yes. Because, because I still can't believe that you had those tattooed! On your face. Um."

"Duh." Was that all? Kai exhaled and looked away, dismissing the matter entirely as he stared at the computer. He should get up now and go over there. As soon as he got up.

But Tyson hadn't stopped talking, and his voice picked up and went faster the more he talked. "I certainly wasn't, you know, looking at you or anything. Or watching you sleep. And I don't think you're sexy. Or anything like that. Can you stop falling asleep on me? Because, really, your face gets really defenceless when you do that and I'm having a tough time trying to convince myself that I'm straight when you look like that, or when you're still all wet from your shower, or when you tell me that I'm the only one you trust or really when you move and talk or anything! So yeah! My point! Wasn't kissing you! Ok?"

Kai felt that explosion of sound had been long enough to warrant a raising of his eyebrow. What was Tyson babbling on about this time? He'd already explained what he'd been doing before. Stupid Tyson. Kai huffed again and tried to stand.

Tyson jumped up and moved to help him up, averting his eyes. "Ok? We're ok?"

Kai raised his other eyebrow. Tyson was being awfully insistent about this whole thing. He sighed. "We're fine. 'sides. You've 'splained that whole cheek thing. With fingers and not kiss. Yes. Fine. Life good. W00t-ness"

He winced as he heard himself talk. His body _was_ shutting down. It was painful to listen to. Kai decided to shut up and not speak until he'd managed to recuperate his sleep time. Megatokyo had invaded his speech now. Was there no end to his descent?

And _why_ wouldn't Tyson stop holding him up? Irritated beyond belief, Kai hit Tyson's supporting arm. "'son, 'm _fine_. Go 'way."

Tyson bit his lip and stepped back, his eyes filled with sympathy and pity. "Kai…"

Kai snarled. He didn't _do_ pity, or anything like that. He was fine on his own! Glaring, he headed towards the kitchen to get his coffee. He was perfectly fine. He …

Kai walked into the wall, crashed into a table, knocked a lamp onto the floor, and then fell down himself. He stared in surprise at his betraying legs, before frowning.

"My legs don't work anymore."

Slowly, he became aware of a soft sound behind him. Turning slightly and craning his neck, he looked upwards at Tyson, who was laughing into his hands. Catching sight of Kai looking at him, Tyson gave up trying to muffle the sounds and burst out laughing in full, promptly falling to the ground. Kai blinked, before snickering quietly, too. It was one in the morning. Everything was funny at one in the morning.

Their laughter grew and started to get a little hysterical until their neighbour pounded on the wall. Kai and Tyson glanced at each other and stopped laughing, wiping the tears out of their eyes and calming down into comfortable silence. Tyson crawled over the couple of feet, offering his hand in apology.

"Sorry, Kai. I shouldn't have laughed at you. Friends?"

Kai shot him a humoured look, automatically taking the hand. "Sure. I shouldn't ha' hit you."

"Well, I shouldn't have tried to mother you."

"I shouldn't have sn'rled at'choo."

"I should have made your coffee. Sorry."

Kai sighed, trying to enunciate carefully. "And I shouldn't have made your life occasionally evil. Now, having apologized for everything except our birth, can you help me up? My legs don't want to work and I need to get over to the computer area."

Tyson groaned. "My arm muscles hate you. How many times have I had to carry you around this year?"

Kai smirked. "Enough times to actually get you back in shape. You should love me instead."

Tyson stopped a second, before shooting Kai a shaky smile and standing up. "Uh… whatever. Come on, Kai. I'll get the water boiling." He gave a strong pull and Kai rode with it, finally standing up. Looking straight into Tyson's eyes, Kai fought the urge to just fall asleep where he stood.

It was something about Tyson, he decided, that made him feel at ease. Had it always been that way? He tried to remember…

((Flashback))

* * *

_Kai sat on his bed, staring blankly at the wall. Beside him, his first lab report lay neatly folded beside him. Peeking out from the white paper was a portion of a mark, boldly printed in red marker. _

_A knock on the door reminded him that he was not alone. Still, he slowly turned incurious red eyes to look at the closed door, little caring that there was someone to count on._

_"Kai? You in?"_

_Tyson knocked several times on the door, politely. Kai could have told him that the door wasn't going to break – it looked firm enough. Then again, maybe it was like him: It looked solid, but if you hit it the right way it shattered into a million pieces._

_"Kai?"_

_Kai went back to staring at the wall. It was a blank wall. Maybe someday he'd put up some posters. Of what, he didn't know. Tyson certainly didn't have any trouble putting up posters in his room: pictures of scantily clad girls on beaches, various tournament posters, a couple of encouragement signs, and the typical "Have a day" poster. _

_"Kai, I'm coming in, ok?" The doorknob turned slowly, like in a horror movie. Kai frowned. He didn't really care for horror movies. The gory ones seemed to mock the fragility of human life, and the psychological ones reminded him too much of those heart-wrenching moments in the Abbey._

_Tyson popped his head in. "You decent? Sorry, I should have checked. Anyway… happy birthday!" Tyson wriggled through the narrow doorway. "How's it—" Abruptly, he caught sight of the returned lab report. "Oh! Hey, you got it back? How'd you do?"_

_"Go away."_

_Tyson flopped down on the other side of the bed. "That bad, huh? Well, I wouldn't worry—"_

_"Tyson," Kai interrupted, his voice cold. "Get off my bed."_

_Tyson rose again. "Ah, sorry. Um. Anyway, I wouldn't really worry about it."_

_Kai slumped slightly. "It was worth 10 of my mark, you idiot."_

_"Oh." Tyson looked lost for a second, then looked hesitatingly at Kai. "You know, we _are_ first year students. Have you tried going to one of the writing services? I tried last week and they're really pretty nice. The guy I had was incredibly smart, but not condescending about it. It's really pretty good."_

_Kai looked down. "I shouldn't need any help."_

_"Because you're Kai? You may be near perfect, but you still need to get used to doing things differently. My English professor says that even if you're the smartest, most adaptive person in the world, that means nothing if you don't have a basis of knowledge."_

_Kai looked at Tyson for a long, assessing moment. "It certainly doesn't sound like anything you'd say."_

_"Ah! You mean, anything I'd say before now. I love that saying! I'm going to use it all the time now!"_

_"Of course you will." Kai looked away._

_"Tell you what," Tyson picked up the lab report. "I'll put this on your area of the desk, and then I'll get you some nice green tea. It's after 10 on a Thursday night, Kai, and you've obviously had a rough day. You going to get some sleep?"_

_Kai pursed his lips. "I guess I'm mostly done my work…"_

_"Perfect! Get changed while I make the tea? Oh! I've got the perfect present for you!"_

_Wordless, Kai got changed quickly and got into bed, just as Tyson returned with the tea. Tyson had changed into his own pjs, too, and yawned a little as he grabbed a chair to sit down._

_"Ok. Ready? So, with my limited writing skills, I wrote you a story! Ta-dah! And I'm going to read it to you (which is admittedly part of my homework assignment), and you can listen to it. Sound like a plan?"_

_Despite the fact he was still wound up, Kai propped himself up against the pillow expectantly. He sipped his tea, bundled warmly into the bed in his first birthday at university, listening to Tyson stumble through his first story. What Tyson had read wasn't anything spectacular, but engaging despite all of its faults. Sometime after he'd finished the tea, Tyson's expressive voice seemed to soften and Kai had drifted off, wrapped in a memory of heroics and friendships_.

* * *

To this day, Kai could only remember Tyson's voice and the triumphant declaration of "and they lived happily ever after! The end!" 

Now at his computer, and listening to background noises of Tyson getting ready for bed, Kai paused a moment. Unknown to him, a soft smile crossed his face as he recalled the memories.

* * *

Tuesday night? Wednesday morning? Kai risked a glance at his watch as he passed under a streetlamp. It was Tuesday night still, by a surprisingly large margin. He moved onwards, wrapping his coat around him more tightly. The streets were always nearly deserted at this time of the night, to the point where Kai could feel comfortable concentrating on his inner thoughts and not on what was going on around him. 

He turned another corner, suppressing the urge to cough. Coughing was a sign of weakness, and besides, it took too much energy. He was tired…

Taking a deep breath of the frosty air, Kai shook himself out of his pitying funk. The long weekend was closer, though it didn't matter so much anymore. His classes today had dumped a ton and a half of extra assignments on him. He wouldn't be getting any sleep this long weekend either, it seemed.

Kai knew Tyson was going to be peeved. He didn't especially care, but he wasn't looking forward to the confrontation. Fights required energy, and he didn't have that much to spare. His coffee – much to the delight of the capitalist coffee shops – had upped itself to six shots of espresso in sugared latte, and even that was barely enough to keep him awake throughout the day.

And _today_ in one of his classes, the professor had shown a movie voiced by some soft-voiced narrator in a darkened room. Kai's left arm was entirely red from all the pinching he'd done to stay awake – and even then, his notes on the film were sketchy.

Kai stumbled up the few steps in the apartment building then stared at the elevator button for a minute or two. He decided he hated the elevator button. It was evil. It shone when it was pushed and that hurt his eyes. Evil.

He pushed it anyway, then brought his hand up to wipe away his bangs.

Kai reached his door without incident. He decided to stare at the door for a while, too. It seemed to be really interesting. There was wood … and … a doorknob… and the numbers of their place…

Absently, Kai saw his hand reaching out to trace gently over the wood. Wood was interesting to touch, really. It was all grainy and—

Ow.

Pulling his hand back, Kai stared at his index finger, which now sported a long, dark splinter, painted green. It didn't really hurt, but Kai stuck his finger in his mouth anyway. With his right hand unavailable, Kai gave up looking for his keys and used his left hand to knock softly.

Within a few minutes, the door opened to a tired looking Tyson. Quizzically, Tyson opened the door all the way, then seemed to go very, very still as he stared at Kai. Interestingly, his face was turning red again, too.

Kai figured it was because he'd knocked instead of falling against the door. He shrugged and waved, still sucking absently on his finger.

Tyson stared some more before finally tearing his eyes away and stepping back from the doorway. Kai shuffled through, managing to get all the way in and over to the couch before collapsing. He could feel, through his dim tunnel vision, Tyson right behind him, and then beside him as he joined Kai on the much-used couch.

"Ah… Kai?" Tyson's voice was all squeaky. Kai ignored him, trying to remember how you actually got a splinter out the right way.

"You're sucking on your finger, Kai. Can I ask why?" Now Tyson's voice was squeaky and hopeful, like that time he'd asked some model if she was available for dinner. Kai cast a suspicious look around the small room. He didn't want any models here. They were annoying and Not Tyson – he couldn't let them see him in his moment of weakness!

His finger left his mouth with a small 'pop.' With a melancholy expression, Kai looked at the splinter. He couldn't remember how to best take out a splinter, so he guessed he'd have to use tweezers. Or a needle.

Kai ignored Tyson, who was still talking, and stared at the ceiling. They were _guys_. They didn't have tweezers and needles just lying about on the bathroom sink. Come to think of it, did they even _have_ those things? Concentrating on trying to locate splinter-removing objects, he let himself slide sideways. Didn't they have a pair in the emergency medical supplies? Maybe.

Abruptly landing on his nice-smelling warmth, Kai let his head roll back and a whine escape his lips. Now he was all warm and wouldn't want to get up. Crap. Ah, well. Maybe if he left the splinter alone, his body would attack it and he could examine the immune reaction in the morning. A frown crossed his face, as he realized that would mean dealing with pus. That wasn't so fun, especially when he couldn't examine it under a microscope immediately.

Kai's musing was roughly interrupted when two warm hands grabbed his arms and pushed him back with wrenching force. A tense voice spoke into his ear, "Kai? This is Tyson, the guy on whom you apparently like to cuddle? I have something I need to tell you, so please open your eyes and pay attention."

Kai jerked awake instantly, flaring into a rage. "I _beg_ your pardon?" The voice dripped out like poison, with every intent to offend. How dare Tyson impute that Kai would forget that he was there, much less let him order Kai around? Who did he think he was? And… cuddle? Kai bared his teeth and threw a venomous look at Tyson's surprised mug. Was Tyson too much of an idiot to realize that it wasn't cuddling? That it was falling _asleep_ and he did it only because Tyson's body was soft like a pillow and he always lulled him to sleep? Obviously so.

Satisfied with his mental, sleep-fogged logic, Kai settled in for a long session of Ignore The Tyson. Fuelled by anger, he stood up and marched over to the computer chair, ready to work. Almost instantly, Tyson was at his side, actually on his knees so that he could stare pleadingly up at Kai.

"I'm sorry. That was the totally wrong thing to say!"

Kai sniffed, still offended. It wasn't that it had been wrong (because it had), it was more that there had been _three_ wrong things that Tyson had said.

"Please? C'mon, Kai. This really means a lot to me. Can you give me a break? It's practically midnight and we've both been burning the candle at both ends. So my wording's a little screwed up. Come back, please?"

Kai made the mistake of glancing down and was hit with the full force of Tyson's puppy dog look. That wasn't fair in the slightest. Kai had _watched_ Tyson perfect it in the mirror, and then had smirked as Tyson had won over four different girls in rapid succession with that look. Of course, Tyson had also used it whenever he was at a loss at how to apologize further for something he'd really screwed up on.

Finding himself back on the couch, Kai was suddenly hit with the _intensity_ of Tyson's expression. He tried again to shake himself into full awareness, somehow sensing that this was incredibly important, but it was the _couch_. For the past three months, it had been where he slept. Kai had taken enough psychology classes to recognize that his brain was already shutting down, habituated to the area to slip into sleep.

And Tyson was warm, so that was like a blanket. The couch cushions were soft, so that was his pillow. He was settled in for the night – No!

He had to stay awake. He had to. For Tyson, if not for the last two sentences of his homework. Tyson, certainly, had done enough for him to deserve this. Ok, Kai told himself. Stay awake. Stay awake. Stay awake.

He could do this. He could. He'd just ignore the heat that Tyson was radiating and the soft lighting of the moon outside – when had the lights been turned off? Kai knew he looked confused, but things had suddenly changed and he wasn't oriented anymore. He _liked_ being oriented, being on top of the situation and controlling it. Except that he wasn't – hadn't been for some time, admittedly. And now Tyson was leaning forward with a pleading look in his burning hot eyes, and was _shaking_.

Kai looked at Tyson's hands in deeper confusion. Tyson was so warm – why was he shaking? Shaking meant cold. Cold was bad. Hesitantly, he reached out and took one of Tyson's hands in his own, concentrating on rubbing it back to warmth and entirely missing the look of surprised hope in Tyson's eyes.

"Kai? I have something to tell you."

"Mm." The hand _felt_ warm, but maybe he should keep rubbing to make sure Tyson really was warm. It was the least he could do.

"It's really important."

"Mmmm."

"You remember how, a couple weeks back, there was that guy who said I was gay?"

Kai made an affirmative grunt and picked up the other hand. Tyson just wouldn't stop shaking.

"And you remember how I said I wasn't?"

"Hn." Kai was listening, but these silly warm hands that wouldn't heat up were drawing most of his attention.

"Well, the thing is…" Tyson's voice trailed off, and the lack of sound made Kai drag his eyes up questioningly. Tyson stared back at him nervously, his eyes shimmering and tensing anxiously. "The thing is… I don't think I'm totally straight anymore."

Was that all? Kai blinked sleepily up at him, then went back to rubbing Tyson's hands. Why did Tyson think this mattered to him? Tyson was Tyson and therefore his best friend, no matter what or who he loved. For crying out loud, Kai had stayed with him even when Tyson had brought home the new Britney Spears' album and had played it non-stop for three weeks. Compared to that, this recent confession was nothing. Whatever, really.Personally, Kaihadn't ever thought about who or what he liked, but he presumed heliked girls. But Tyson wasn't sure, probably 'cause he spent too much introspection time in the Arts. Kaipouted. This whole thing was pointless.Did that mean he could sleep yet?

"Um… but the thing is, Kai, that I don't really know. So, uh…" Tyson's voice trailed off again. "Gosh, this is way harder than I thought it would be." Kai could feel Tyson take a deep breath for support. "Hey, Kai?"

"Mm."

"You're not… going out with anyone, right?"

"Mm."

"So, uh… can I try something with you?"

"Mm." Kai moved back to the first hand, rubbing it smoothly. They were shaking even worse, but still seemed to be as warm as ever.

Tyson shook his head and Kai knew, because Tyson had suddenly moved _way_ in and was right in front of his face. Desperately tired eyes tried to contract in a last-ditch effort to focus, but gave up and slid shut instead. Tyson's breath washed over his face and ruffled his bangs. "Tell me if you want to stop," Tyson murmured softly, though Kai could easily hear him in the suddenly too-too quiet apartment. Not even sounds from the road filtered in through the window.

Then suddenly there was something warm and firm against his lips. It pushed tentatively forwards and Kai, having used all his energy paying attention to Tyson before, willingly fell back. The soft cushions of the couch pillowed his fall, and the warmth above seem to sprawl over him with a surprised sound. Then, just as Kai was getting used to having something heavy and warm as a personal blanket, the feeling returned against his lips.

Kai, behind closed eyelids, felt like blinking in slow realization. Oh. This … this was a _kiss_. What was a kiss doing … Oh. Oh! _Tyson_ was kissing him? Why would Tyson be kissing him? Kai cast his mind back to the conversation – something about uncertainty? He mused over this a moment, even as he basked in Tyson's heat. He reached his conclusion shortly. Obviously, Tyson was uncertain as to whether he liked guys and so was kissing Kai to find out. He trusted Kai with this, probably (Kai guessed) because Kai was his closest friend. It was a little on the bizarre side, admittedly, to kiss your friend to see if you liked their gender, but then again, Tyson had never been one to follow the rules.

And then Tyson did something with his hand and Kai had no choice but to gasp as sheer pleasure ricocheted through his chest. The kiss turned deeper and wetter and _better_ and Kai had no room for thoughts anymore, save for the one spark in his brain that would say nothing but "wow." It was still too hesitant, though. Kai was used to Tyson giving all he had in everything he did – why should now be any different? Kai growled a little and started to use his tongue, finding it relaxing when Tyson manipulated their mouths to retaliate to his full advantage.

His body took on a life of its own, wrapping the arms around Tyson's shoulders and twisting the legs into Tyson's, trying desperately to get the warmth closer, and warmer, and somehow _better_, like the kiss had gotten. Kai pulled back a little, reluctantly tearing himself away from Tyson's mouth and quickly licking Tyson's cheek instead. His skin tasted good, too. Did he want more? Kai tried to think about it.

Muddling through a pleasure-fogged mind, Kai dimly heard Tyson groaning. As slow as a blooming flower, Tyson moved and ran his fingers through Kai's hair, touching his head in a curiously gentle fashion that threw Kai for a loop. One hand moved down, stroking Kai's lips almost fervently in place of his own mouth, while the other shifted the turtleneck aside. And suddenly, Kai found out where Tyson's mouth had gone because it was attacking his neck and had somehow managed to hit that _one_ spot that always drove him _insane_ and how did Tyson know that? He arched and gasped and dimly he registered staring blindly at the ceiling.

"Kai, Kai, _Kai_…" Tyson chanted between nibbling on Kai's neck. Lips and tongue and teeth, they were all used to quickly reduce Kai into a moaning, swearing, quivering pile of jelly. Then, and only then, did Tyson move back up to Kai's open mouth to try out another style of kissing, which did nothing to improve Kai's mental state of functioning. Tyson was squirming on top of him and it felt good. So _incredibly_ good. Heavens help him, but he wanted _more_… Tyson…

"Tyson…?" His voice had gone hoarse and rough, the way it was after a good night's sleep. Kai moved one hand to Tyson's chest to push him back and away, inherently knowing through his hormone-drugged stupor and the _need_ that surged through him that this had gone way beyond any sort of friendship trial. "…Wait…"

Tyson stopped immediately, though his hot breath still panted over Kai's face. Kai felt his eyes flutter shut under the feather-like assault, but then opened them when he felt his blanket move away. He made a small questioning sound and gave Tyson a sleepy, quizzical look.

Tyson threw him a shaky smile and ran a trembling hand through his messed-up hair. "Well, I think that decides that."

Kai raised an eyebrow, too comfortable in his position on the couch to bother moving. "Mm?"

"Now I'm definitely gay." Tyson blew out a nervous breath and seemed to look expectantly hopeful as he waited for Kai's reaction.

Kai suppressed the urge to glare. "And I'm straight. So what's your point?" Still in a haze, he suddenly felt annoyed at the pointlessness of it all. Tyson had already said that he wasn't straight – why had he needed to … do what he just did? Besides, it didn't _matter_ to Kai about the whole sexual orientation thing. He didn't _care_. Didn't Tyson know him better by now? And what had that whole _thing_ before been about?

He clenched his eyes shut in irritation. It was late and he was tired – as always. Couldn't Tyson have waited for the weekend to deal with this?

"…oh."

Tyson's small, defeated-sounding voice was the only thing that tore him from his stewing rage. Why was Tyson so sad? He'd found his little sexual niche in life, hadn't he? What else did he want? Kai looked up at Tyson and waited for an explanation.

Tyson, though, was grinning at the floor in a way that seemed to rip Kai's heart apart. That was the grin that Tyson had worn when his grandpa had died. It wasn't happy at all, but rather told the world that he'd really rather be alone now, if that was ok with everyone…

"Tyson?" Kai was concerned enough to actually move away from the couch and sit up.

Tyson flashed him a tear-filled look and stood up abruptly, effectively halting Kai's unsure attempt at reassurance. "Nothing! It's… nothing. I just… I guess I was wrong about some things, I guess." Tyson turned around, giving Kai a confusing view of his back. "I'm going to go to bed now. Sorry for bothering you, Kai. I hope you have a very productive night." The last few words clipped out briskly, reminding Kai of soldiers marching.

"Wait, Tyson? Did I…?"

"Good _night_, Kai!" Tyson suddenly shouted, effectively cutting off anything that came from Kai's mouth. Then Tyson ran off, clicking his bedroom door shut firmly.

Several minutes later, Kai found that staring at Tyson's closed door wasn't solving anything. Knowing that it was going to be _another_ long night, he then moved over to the computer.

With little effort, he ignored the tingles of pleasure that still sparked from his neck, concentrating instead on his lab report.

Still, he was unable to stop thinking about Tyson's shaking hands.

* * *

The sun was barely setting on Wednesday as Kai grumped home. It had been a _really_ lousy day. 

It had all started this morning, he decided. He'd slept through his alarm and Tyson hadn't woken him up, so he'd been late for class. In his next class, he'd fallen asleep _three_ times, to the extreme annoyance of the professor. Then he'd been rushed in the lab, had managed to light his lab coat on fire twice, burnt himself four times, and only then had noticed the infection on his finger due to the splinter he hadn't removed yet. He'd barely finished the experiment before the labs had shut early – something about a chemical spill and dangerous fumes. As if that weren't bad enough, the computer lab where he had been going to type his reports was temporarily closed for cleaning.

At that point, Kai had no choice but to go home. He turned the last corner before he reached the apartment building, twitching and glaring furiously the whole time. He didn't _want_ to come home. He couldn't pinpoint why, exactly, but he was pretty sure that Tyson was going to be in a bad mood.

And Tyson made bad coffee when he was in a bad mood.

"Hey, you! Yeah, you! Don't you dare walk away from me!"

Caught up in his thought, Kai didn't see the fist aimed at him. It was only when pain flared along his arm and he felt himself hit the ground did he take note. He scathingly looked upwards at his assailant, who was dressed in a expensive business suit despite his obvious youth. Kai decided he didn't like him, and started remembering various ways to break bones.

The other guy, who couldn't have been more than two years older than Kai, glared back. "You disgust me, you freak." Without further warning, he opened his thermos and upended the hot coffee down towards Kai.

Or at least, where Kai had been. Using reflexes nonetheless slowed by fatigue, Kai scrambled out of the way and rose to his feet. As it was, his arm was screaming from the coffee's touch.

"Nice moves, _fairy_." The blond sneered.

Kai stared in sheer confusion. What was this guy _on_? He'd never seen him before in his life. Still fuming, he waited for an answer before he jumped into action.

Fortunately, the jerk was obliging if nothing else. "Oh, yeah. I've seen you before, in case you're wondering. I've been watching you for a long time, you fag. You come down in the elevator, asleep and practically wrapped around that blue-haired boy. You've never noticed me? No wonder, you're usually all focussed on your fag _boyfriend_." He spat the last word out as if it disgusted him. "You should be more considerate of others. Some of us don't _want_ to see that in the morning."

Kai stared stonily at him, his mind busily upgrading to dismemberment.

Still not done, the man continued to rant. "I'm just glad I managed to get your other half last month. Told him how I felt, yeah. Of course, then he punched me out." He brought a hand up to rub at the faint purpling that remained around his eye. "I thought your kind was all weak. Sure threw me." He spat on the ground.

He paused, then looked speculatively at Kai, running his eyes measuringly along Kai's form. He grinned nastily, as if realizing something."I guess that makes you the submissive one, don't it? You probably _beg_ for it, huh? Don't you? Freak. You _disgust_ me!" Screaming that last bit, he ran at Kai, his fist raised to attack.

Kai was feeling a little disgusted himself. Through a hazy, foggy mind, the insistent tickling in his throat that warned him of a cough, and the sand in his eyes that made them want to shut, Kai moved on programmed instinct. He brought his arm to bear, grabbing the incoming fist and using it to propel the prejudiced annoyance into a garbage can. While he lay on the ground, stinking and stunned, Kai moved to stand over him, debating what to do.

On the ground, the annoyance sneered and pointed a finger. "Don't think you're so tough, freak. This ain't over."

Kai sighed before bending over and grabbing the offensive finger, applying pressure until it broke with a satisfying crack. Then, using his other hand to haul him up by his collar, Kai looked measuringly at the suddenly blubbering man and grinned his promise of vengeance.

Kai proceeded to vent his bad day.

Two minutes later, Kai turned to leave, satisfied with his work. Behind him, the crumpled heap of a man struggled to raise his head. "You," he gasped out. "You're _mean_! What _are_ you?"

Kai smirked over his shoulder, sparing a moment's regret for his old flaring white scarf, before hardening his eyes even further. "Certainly not what you thought I was," he threw out. "And now, I'm your enemy. Have fun with _that_ thought." He sneered, taking in the man's shocked face, before continuing home.

Ten minutes later, Kai opened the door to his home, shuffling in and toeing off his shoes. Out of sight, he heard Tyson pause in his typing, and then the chair creaking as he got up.

An obviously falsely cheerful Tyson poked his head around the corner, doing a double take when he took in Kai's coffee-drenched form. "Kai? You're home early. Uh… how was your day?"

Kai watched, rather interested, as Tyson's form wavered in and out of focus. He shrugged, heard himself mumble something about the city being full of weird creeps, before moving forward. Bypassing a confused Tyson, he grabbed the charged laptop and headed for his room.

It was obvious even to him in his current condition that Tyson didn't want to be around him. That was fine with Kai. He'd had enough of the human race to last him a year.

He paused a moment after he'd finished unloading his backpack. There was something bothering him still. What was it…? Oh, right.

Reluctantly, Kai opened his door. "Hey, Tyson? If you see a skinny businessman with a cracked nose, a split lip, a broken left arm and several crushed fingers on his right hand, you should pro'lly avoid him, 'k?"

Tyson stiffened from where he'd been sorting in the corner, his mind obviously recalling his own encounter last month. Temporarily shaken out of his self-pity, Tyson shot up – again – and gave Kai a wild look. "What? What happened? Kai?"

Kai gazed evenly at him, remembering to move his shoulders to shrug casually. Not in the mood to talk anymore, he turned and disappeared into his room.

* * *

Several hours later, Tyson had moved out of the main area and Kai had taken his accustomed place at the main computer. Typing diligently, Kai's world had narrowed to the words that stumbled onto the screen. Clicking his fingers over keys and feeling extremely grateful for the computer's automatic spelling corrector, Kai almost didn't hear Tyson come out of the bedroom. 

"Hey, Kai? Um, I know we've been friends for ages and all, but lately something's come up between us that I need to figure out. You know, on my own."

Kai grunted, his brow furrowing as he tried to make his fingers type the word "polysaccharides." (4)

"Just to let you know, I'm not, like, running away, ok? But I'm going to go hang with someone else for a while, ergo the backpack."

Kai blinked – his eyes had gotten too dry from staring at the screen. Tyson was doing stuff again. Whatever.

"If I don't come back," Tyson's voice hitched. "Well, it was nice knowing you. I… I wish you all the best, Kai."

Kai concentrated on the screen. There was something about that paragraph… maybe it needed more? He looked at his notes. That was right – he still needed to report his conclusions. Yuck.

Caught up in his own tired world in which the flickering screen was of sole importance, Kai ignored the click of the front door closing. It sounded like the keys typing, anyway.

* * *

TBC

* * *

**Author's Explanatory Text Notes:**

(1) This would be a rather nasty insult.  
Tyson is referring to the Shakespeare play "A Winter's Tale." In it, Leontes is the king who turns paranoid and believes his friend (another king) and wife are out to get him. The next three acts have Leontes plotting the murder of his friend, refusing to acknowledge his wife's child of his own, sending the baby to be abandoned in, like, Siberia, putting his wife on trial for high treason, accusing her faithfulness, causing her death…  
The list really goes on. He's fun to read.

(2) ((grins uber wide)) I shamelessly pulled this off the hit show"Corner Gas." Anyone here seen the episode with "The Tax Man"? ((giggles like a hyena))

(3) TA: Teaching Assistant. They run the labs and can be nice. Or evil. Either way…

(4) "Polysaccharides: Apopular science term I remember mispelling and overusing during my brief sojurn into the world of chemicals. A more accurate definition, though, (found in a random online dictionary) is : "Any of a series of compounds of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen in which the atoms of the latter two elements are in the ratio of 2:1, especially those containing the group C6H10O5." Ok? Ok.

* * *

**A/N:** Soo… how many almost-kiss scenes could _you_ spot? Next chapter will be up shortly! Oh, just so's you know? I did _not_ like writing that scene near the end. With the guy. Still, it struck me as fitting in with the plot and it helped explain why Tyson had been accused of being gay last month. ((kicks the prejudiced homophobe vindictively)). 

Btw? Watched the last episode of BB: G-Rev today. It ends with Significant Looks between Tyson and Kai, who have _snuck_ _off_ to be together. ((giggles)) My mind is a horribly fun place to be, especially when the others notice that both Kai and Tyson are suspiciously absent at the same time. Hehehe. ((winks))

As always, please **review**. I _like_ feedback! (Then again, who doesn't?) Answers / Returning comments shall follow in the next chapter!

* * *

**Sleep Deprivation links:** (Just so you know, I googled "Extreme Sleep Deprivation") Take out the spaces!  
http: www. interluderetreat. com / meditate / sleep . htm  
http: 66 . 102 . 7 . 104 / search ? qcache: nz1RD8p0xm4J : human – factors . arc . nasa . gov / zteam / PDF pubs / Nimitz1997 . pdf+22Extended+sleep+deprivation 22&hl en&lr langeng!lang ja  
(This one probably won't show up right in Stupid formatting. If you really want to know, you can always send me an e-mail. I'm sure I could find it again - it _was _really helpful.)  
http : www . cfah . org / factsoflife / vol3no3 . cfm 


	3. The End

**A/N:** This _will_ be the last chapter. I will make it so – even if it makes me really, really tired! Yes!

Oh, also? If things seem a little far-fetched ( _I_ certainly blinked a couple times when I read this over), please rest assured that all situations are based entirely on teachers and events I've encountered during my own stay at the university. Seriously.

The non-canon characters in the story are _also_ based on profs I've had – like, in the last two semesters. ((chuckles)) The University's a fertile ground for education, but people – if you don't know their back-story – seem a little odd. Do I even need to say I love it there?

**Disclaimer:** Roses are red / And so is most wine/ The chara.'s from Beyblade / Are in no way mine! Ta-Dah!

**Review Answers (in no logical order because I think chaos is fun!): (For those who didn't review, feel free to skip this as it won't make any sense in addition to being babbly-long.)

* * *

**

**Kinda: **Thank you very much for your review and incredible enthusiasm! It was wonderful to hear and it was that wonderful attitude which made me finish this story up! This is _so_ dedicated to you – thanks!

**Ellen**: Hi! ((gags)) Marshmallows have algae? …dude, that's _yuck._ ((makes a face)) As for university, though, you should totally go! As a currently participating member, I would like to inform you that university is _fun_. I'm just having way too much fun in exaggerating everything – but that's just to make the TyKa moments sweeter. Sorry! As for the homophobe thing – Grrr. That pisses me off to end too. ((is nauseated)) I did _not_ like writing that scene – I can't stand it in real life, much less on "paper." But! Anyway! Thank you very much for the review!

**Serena429: **Thank you for the review; I'm glad you liked the chappie! I'm so sorry this update didn't come faster .. but at least it's here now, right? Right? ((looks pleadingly at you)) Revel in the TyKa goodness – and observe as Kai _finally_ realizes that Tyson's gone! Yays! Thanks again, and hope you enjoy!

**Kinra**: Hi! Thanks for the review and observe: The Finishing Chapter! Ta-dah! And you think this is one of the best you've ever read? ((blushes happily)) Gosh, thanks! That means a lot! I hope you like this chapter just as well! Hope you enjoy!

**El Conejo Morado:** COOKIE! ((pounce!)) Snarf, snarf – Yum! Thankies! 3 Anyhoo, thankies for the review! I'm glad you liked the chappie and I hope you like this final one, too! And look! Happy ending! ((realizes she's just given away the spoiler)) Whoopsie. Ah, well. It's payback for the cookie! And yes, let us all feel _very_ sorry for poor Takao-chan… in addition to chucking various blunt implements at Kai-kun's dense head. ((giggles)) Thanks again! ((goes to wipe the excess crumbs off her face))

**Titanicbabe:** Wow. For some reason, I just totally love your user name. ((shakes head)) Anyway! Thanks for the review; I'm so sorry this update didn't come sooner! But… um… better late than never? ((hopeful)) At any rate, I'm so glad you like the story so far – and that you enjoy this last chapter! Feel free to let me know what you think!

**Dragonfly-affinity:** Thank you for the review! I'm so glad you like the story. Thank you for waiting so patiently for the update, and I hope you enjoy the conclusion! Thanks again!

**Dark Side of the Storm:** Wow, thank you for that incredible review. ((feels humbled)) You're definitely welcome for this story; actually, I'd noticed the incredible angstness of the various TyKa stories out there, too, but I was wondering if that was just me. At any rate, I'm wonderfully happy to find that you've enjoyed this so much. Also, thanks for waiting for this incredibly belated update! Hope you enjoy this last chapter just as much – and feel more than free to let me know what you think, okay?

**MistyEyes:** Wow! _Two _reviews! Thank you! I'm so glad you liked the humour, b/c I'm a firm believer in stories being at least somewhat humorous. Indeed. ((vigorous nodding)) Thanks again for the reviews, and hope you like this last chapter!

**FireieGurl:** Oh, gosh! I'm so sorry! I just realized that I spelled your name wrong last time! Sorry, sorry, sorry! ((is horribly embarrassed)) But thank you for the review, and don't worry! Kai/Tyson goodness will abound! That stuff before only happened because Kai is an idiot. Stupid Kai. ((huggles)) At any rate, sorry for the late update and I hope you enjoy this last chapter!

**TechnoRanma:** Looksie! It's your review answers! ((grins)) Of course, you've already read this story, so I guess there's nothing I can say, really. ((thinks)) I mean, I've added these review answers.. oh! And I changed the last line to something I'm _much_ happier with! I don't know if you'll read this, but I hope you're doing great! All the best to you, girl! Oh! And yes! The last episode of BB:G-Rev? SO the s-ai. ((laughs)) Tyson and Kai are so into each other, it's no wonder they get transported to the stars when they battle! ((giggles)) My theory is they just got lost in each other's eyes. ((laughs again)) So gorgeous!

**Rina:** Cookie! ((snarfs it down)) Thank you! ((reads the lovely compliments and blushes happily)) Oh, gosh. Thanks for those, too! You're so nice! And I'm thrilled that you enjoyed sleepdeprived!Kai. ((laughs)) He was so much fun to write, especially when I started treating the whole situation as an ongoing contest to see how many times I could have him fall onto warm!Tyson. ((laughs again)) Anyway. Thanks again for the lovely review, and I hope you enjoy this last chapter just as much!

**Lichtblick:** Thank you so much for the review. Seriously. I loved how you pointed out the parts you liked, because now I _know_ what turned out (and, by default, what didn't) which will hopefully allow me to improve my writing style. Thanks very much! Here's the last chapter for you, which I hope is equally good. Feel free to let me know what you think, I'd love to hear from you!

**Seiryu the Tamashii: **Thanks for the review! Thanks also for pointing out how you liked the length of the chapters; I think I'm going to go with that style from now on, even if it does take a bit longer to post. And ooh! This is your favourite story! Thank you so much! And thanks, too, for waiting so patiently! I hope you enjoy!

**Roxanne Morinaka:** Thanks for the review. Sorry about the update time, but … um… here it (finally) is? Hope you enjoy this chapter!

**Kaay-chan:** Thanks for the review! I read your bio and the review does make more sense now. I think that's a really interesting idea for your continuing saga of stories! And, while your fics look really interesting, I'm afraid I'll have to wait until my two jobs calm down a bit before I'll be able to find time to read them. They're totally on my list of things-to-do, though, soo… Hope you enjoy!

**Feelin Glayish:** OMG, I just visited your deviantart account last night. I _drool_ in awe and worship all over your art before I save it with ardent fervour. And you reviewed _me?_ Wow! ((feels humbled)) For both chapters, no less! ((dances about happily)) YAY! Oh, and UBER good luck to you in your program! To be perfectly honest, I gaped in sympathy-horror when I read about your workload; I thought I was making Kai's almost unrealistically heavy, and then I find out yours is even worse! Whoah. (Re: first chapter review) Actually, though I'm in Arts now, I spent a very … special… year and a half in sciences. ((smiles)) I still have happy memories about some of those labs. And the classes were really, really interesting. I loved doing this fic b/c I could recall some of that info when I was doing Kai's pov! Anyway, thank you _so_ much for the reviews! The ending at the end of this fic is _so _for you – I hope your year-end turns out just as happy! (You know, without actually hooking up with a Takao… ((thinks)) On the other hand, that would be pretty nice, wouldn't it? ((grins)) Hope to talk to you later!)

**Dark Kaizer Ken-Wolf: **Thank you so much for the review! I'm glad you liked the humour/angst mix – it's so hard to get it right! I hope you enjoy this chappie just as much! And thanks very much for the compliments!

**Marble eyes: **Hi! Thanks for the review! And wasn't Kai just _awful_ to poor Tyson? ((joins you in whacking Kai with the laptop)) O.O I can't believe that the argument scene was just like _your_ arguments with your "lad mate"! Freaky! Anyhoo, thanks for waiting for this belated update – hope you enjoy!

**Kai-lovr**: Thank you _so _much for this review – and hey! You even pointed out the parts you liked! Yays! Now I know what worked and what didn't! ((is uber-happy)) And yes. The business-man scene was great. I didn't like writing it, but I loved how Kai got to treat him – and then just blow the whole incident off afterwards when he was talking to Tyson. That was too much fun. And I'm glad that you kind of related to Kai – I wrote half of this when I was feeling just as sleep-deprived, so I'm glad I connected with somebody. ((is happy)) Sorry for making you wait for the update, but here it is! And look! The story alone is 26 pages! Yaysies!

**Keri Arishima:** Thank you so much for the review! I'm so glad you liked it – I was on Cloud 9 for a whole day after I read what you wrote, and even now I get all happy just thinking about it! Thank you! I hope you enjoy this last chapter just as much – feel free to let me know what you think, okay?

**CheekyRhbadcat:** Hi! Thanks for the review! ((laughs)) Kai acts like he's drunk? That's great! ((has funny mental images of Drunken!Kai)) Thanks for waiting – TyKa 4evah! W00t!

**Yami Firekali**: Hi! ((tackle-glomp)) I'm so sorry I haven't checked out your stories in ages! I'm so glad you're loving the chapters, though. That's just wonderful to hear! As for Kai dealing with the homophobe… yes. ((snarls)) I did _not_ like writing that homophobe. I'm going to picture him as running home, crying to his Mommy. Yes. But thanks very much for your praise! I hope you enjoy this last chapter, too!

* * *

**Additional A/Ns**: ((singsongs)) Eeeeviiilll… that's what I aaaaamm! Eeevil! ((pauses)) Actually, this was one of those unfortunate chapters where, no matter what I said, I thought it automatically sounded dirty. So, I guess that's another mini-warning. ((whines)) It's not fair! I blame Freud! The profs won't let _up_ on his stuff! ((grumbles))

**Dedication:** To **Kinda**, whose review (which I got this morning! Thank you!) made me kick my unmotivated butt into gear in order to post this. Thanks very much!

Please enjoy!

**WtNtLtD  
**Chapter Three

* * *

Thursday morning. One day more. He could do this. He could. Holy crap, no, he couldn't. 

Kai stopped at the coffee shop, his body trembling (again) with exhaustion. His eyes twitched permanently now, and some idiotic girl in the elevator had told him that the bags under his eyes could have easily carried a month's worth of groceries. His eyes themselves, she further informed him, were so bloodshot it was a wonder there was any blood left flowing through his body and – holy cow! Did you notice that it's hard to tell where your irises leave off and the rest of your eye begins? Cool! ..No, wait! That's so _ewww_!

Kai shook with fury, even at the memory. Yes. He was tired. He _knew_ that. He'd stayed up all night without napping, working hard on the various lab assignments. He'd finished them around five in the morning and had promptly fallen face-first onto the couch to try and get a few hours of sleep. Something, though, had made him too cold and had ended up staring at the ceiling for two hours.

Odd how you could live years in a place and never really appreciate the random pattern of a stuccoed ceiling.

Life-saving espresso now in hand, he sipped it almost desperately in the hopes it would warm him. He was _so_ cold and tired; there were goosebumps breaking out everywhere and the world around him wouldn't stop spinning. He might have actually, finally reached his body's limit – wouldn't that be something? He didn't think he'd _ever_ felt this exhausted, not even after his battle against Brooklyn. Even then, his body might have been in better shape, helped with the knowledge that he'd given strength to his teammates. But now…

Faltering his way across the snow-covered campus, Kai felt shallow relief only when he stepped into his building. The mechanical heat blasted down on him, warming his skin. Superficial though it was, Kai couldn't help but pause a moment and moan softly in bliss.

And now he'd lost his momentum. Crap. With great effort, he started moving again, using the flood of students around him to keep him going. As he staggered down the halls, he could feel himself detaching from his shuddering body. It was so cold again. He wanted a blanket – _his_ blanket, just _please_ let him warm up! Cold…

He reached his first class of the day several minutes early and headed for his usual seat in the front row. Glancing tiredly at the board, he was confused to see his professor pause in his writing and looked perplexedly at him. The white-haired immunology professor put down the chalk and gestured.

"Mr. Hiwatari, may I see you for a second?"

He probably should have been curious, but all he could feel was extreme reluctance to move some more. Backpack still digging in, Kai shuffled over to the prof's desk, having to grab it for balance when his body was washed with a sudden dizziness.

"Mr. Hiwatari," the prof began. "What are you doing here?"

Kai stared, feeling like he was going to collapse. "I'm coming to class, sir?" He fought down a surge of nausea.

The prof continued to look perplexed, until his face cleared with a gentle smile. "Ah, so _that's_ how it is," he murmured, mostly to himself.

"Sir?" Kai tried to stop shaking and listen to his prof.

Mr. Kushimoto steepled his fingers. "Let me explain. Last night, as I was sitting down to supper, there began a very insistent knocking at my door. My visitor turned out to be none other than your friend – Mr. Kinomiya, I believe? He looked rather worse for the wear, but was as polite as anyone could be. He apologized profusely for interrupting my dinner and begged me to listen to what he had to say." The prof shot a significantly scolding glance at Kai, who was looking intrigued despite the fact he was wobbling on his feet.

"Mr. Hiwatari, you should have alerted us to the fact you are taking five difficult lab classes this semester. As things stood before, I was feeling at a loss to explain the extreme drop in your class performance, though it's a compliment to your work ethic that your marks have remained surprisingly stable. Mr. Kinomiya was the one to explain your situation and, with his help, I was able to arrange a brief meeting this morning with your professors."

Kushimoto adjusted his glasses. "In light of the knowledge of your heavy workload, in addition to your dedicated nature, we have agreed that it is not unreasonable to ease your burden a little. As such, you are formally exempted from attending classes until you get back on your feet, and any assignments due within the next two weeks will not be counted towards your final mark. As for class notes, because yes I _know_ how you think, boy, we have unanimously agreed to send you our lecture notes through e-mail, and you can review them at your leisure."

Kai, for the first time in as long as his short-circuited brain could remember, was stunned into total immobility. His prof's words spilled over him, and they _seemed_ to contain good news, but…

Had he heard right?

Kuhimoto's hand settled supportively on his shoulder. "Go home and get some sleep, Mr. Hiwatari. It looks as if you've caught that flu that's been going around." His voice adopted a distinctly amused tone. "Everything's taken care of, and you are a very lucky young man. You just worry about recovering. You might want to close your mouth, though. You look rather flummoxed." He gave Kai a gentle little push towards the door. "Go on now!"

"I … sir, I …" Kai felt tears of relief springing to his eyes as he tried to find the words to express his bone-deep gratitude. His brain had shut down though, and this all seemed like some wonderful fantasy. "I … Thank you so much, sir. _Thank_ you. I—"

The prof shook his head. "Ah, no. It's not me you should be thanking. You are welcome, of course, but you really should be thanking that friend of yours. If it weren't for him, we would have never known, and our best student would have probably snapped from exhaustion. Now, get going. Shoo!"

Kai stumbled out the door, overwhelmed. He didn't have to go to class? His assignments were cancelled? This was… oh, gosh. It was almost _too_ much. He felt himself move without thinking, and let his feet carry him where they would.

A while later, he found himself in front of his next class. He stared at it absently before moving to go forwards, letting his feet move for his brain. Suddenly, an elegantly manicured hand slammed down, barring his path.

He looked up, entirely out of his element and feeling like a lost child. Slowly, his eyes took in the fiery features of his cell biology prof. Her green eyes flashed and she shook her red hair back vehemently.

"Kai, honey?" she demanded, the rich voice snapping out in her characteristic address of all her students. "What _are_ you doing here?"

"I…" Kai started, only to have her cut him off.

"Didn't Kishimoto talk to you? He told us he would! Oh, poo. Well, I guess that means that _I_ get to tell you the good news!" She grinned.

"Ah, no. Actually, he did tell me just now. It was just that I was wondering…"

Mrs. Mackenzie deflated, before rising up again. "You were wondering if it was true? Well, do I have news for you, dah-ling: it is, utterly and entirely. Your assignments are cancelled for the next two weeks, and you can skip classes guilt-free. In fact, I refuse to let you into my classroom until you get some sleep. Look at you! You're so tired I could push you over with a fuzzy toothpick!"

Kai sighed. He didn't know _how_ this prof was so energetic all the time. "Yes, but…"

She poked him. "You're just lucky that honey of a friend of yours came by, is all I've got to say. Now, scat! Go sleep! I'll send you my lecture notes tonight!"

"But—"

"Tut! No! Not another word, I shan't listen to you. Now, get thee hence from this yon institution or what-have-you. Go!"

"Yes, ma'am." Kai gave in. "Thank you."

She grinned at him, clasping her hands over her ears. "Not listening!" she carolled. "La la la…"

Kai raised his hands in mock-surrender before turning and heading home. It was only after he'd reached the halfway point that the enormity of the situation hit him. He stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, suddenly unable to do anything but let a grin tackle his face in sheer glee. It was… This whole thing was… Wow.

Aware that he looked like a fool, he found himself unable to stop smiling as he briskly walked the rest of the way home. Grinning was, after all, much more dignified than the slightly hysterical giggles that wanted to burst out, or the surprisingly strong urge to skip and laugh.

He could _sleep_! He could _finally_ sleep!

Kai moved to unlock the apartment door when the thought struck: he didn't have a huge workload anymore, so he could sleep in his _bed_! This was too good!

As jubilant as he would allow himself to be, he swung the door open, taking in the explosion of mess their apartment had become before dismissing it just as easily. In fact, nothing had ever looked more welcoming. He was home – home to familiar things and events. But more importantly…:

He could _sleep!_

"Tyson?" he called out. "I'm home!"

Silence greeted him and he was thrown for a moment before remembering. Muttering, "Right. It's only 10:50. Tyson will still be in classes. Of _course,_" Kai shook his head at his own stupidity. Then, double-checking that the lock on the door was in place, he stripped down as he headed to his bedroom.

Secure in the knowledge that no one was around to see him, Kai carefully positioned himself, and then let himself fall back onto the bed.

And, oh! It felt so _good_! The pillow was softer than he remembered and the covers were so warm and silky! Kai wrapped himself up snugly, feeling any remaining stress evaporate as his body relaxed into a happily groaning heap of mush.

It felt _so_ good!

With the sun shining in through the window, Kai was asleep before the clock ticked into the next minute.

…

…

…

Warmth and softness and light in his face was what Kai woke to. _Finally_ feeling like himself again, he glanced at his bedside clock, surprised to find it was only two in the afternoon. The sun had barely moved, it seemed.

He yawned and stretched. Was that all? It felt like he had slept for much longer. Maybe he should try and go back to sleep, though he didn't really feel like it. Grabbing his housecoat as he rolled out of bed, Kai walked out of his bedroom and took a moment to enjoy the relative silence of the apartment. It was … nice, he decided. Maybe he could catch the weather and see what I was like outside. It certainly _looked_ nice enough, with the sun shining brightly through the windows, but appearances certainly weren't everything.

Sidestepping the piles on the floor, Kai dragged the chair over into the middle of a sunbeam and turned on the television. It sprang into life – complete with Technicolor- and a smartly dressed man pointed at locations on a map of Japan.

"Well, it's a beautiful Saturday afternoon, with highs well above normal. This heat wave is likely to continue for the next few days, so go out and—" the weatherman was suddenly muted as Kai pressed the remote in shock.

It was _Saturday_?

He blinked, twice, before nodding slowly to himself. Well, that certainly made much more sense as to why felt so rested. He stretched out, enjoying the sunshine a little longer and absently wondering where Tyson was. Though the past few weeks were really nothing but a hazy black blur, he tried to remember if Tyson had ever mentioned doing anything special this weekend.

Distracting him from his pleasant musing, his stomach growled, making Kai sigh. He supposed he should get something to eat. He got up and began walking towards the kitchen, but froze as he saw the broken lamp on the floor. He looked around again at the apartment, taking a second look and realizing the pigsty it had become. Coffee cups were everywhere, TV dinners were moulding on the remaining surfaces, a table was overturned, Cheetos bags littered the floor…

Kai frowned. Maybe he should clean up first. But in his housecoat?

Pausing in indecision for a moment, he decided to shower before beginning. He left the bathroom feeling refreshed, clean and rejuvenated, before rummaging through his closet for his favourite pair of "work" clothes. Then, dressed in an old pair of ratty, cut-off jeans and a faded black "BB: U C?" tank top that he vaguely remembered stealing from Tyson, he set to work, putting on the radio for background noise.

Grabbing a dusty mop and dustpan from their narrow closet, he backed up and took a look around again. Actually, he should probably tidy first. He sighed, putting the things away before hauling out a couple of industrial-sized garbage bags bought for such an emergency. Kai hit the kitchen first, piling the occasional dish in the sink for later hand-washing and throwing out anything that even resembled garbage.

As he threw things out, he found it vaguely amusing that he could now _classify_ the types of mould he saw in the various TV trays. On the other hand, it was somewhat comforting to know that the various danger levels of the things that were growing colonies were relatively low.

Relatively.

Two seconds later in the midst of reaching for a particularly nasty pile of garbage, he hesitated, thought for a second, before leaving for the storage closet and returning a minute later with some yellow dishwashing gloves. It was a measure of how serious things had gotten in the apartment that he was actually wearing them. Kai shook his head, amused, as a memory surfaced of the last time they'd been used.

((Flashback))

* * *

_At the end of their second year's fall semester, Kai and Tyson stared in horror at the mess. It was huge, gigantic, and other words that meant fear-inspiring. It was entirely theirs – amassed during the last month of finals. And now that finals were done, they'd have to clean it up._

_Tyson moaned theatrically before collapsing on the floor. "It's killed me with the stench alone, Kai! Run! Save yourseeeeelf!"_

_Kai raised an eyebrow, a smile tugging at his lips. "I've already opened the window, moron. And besides, we've had the three Glade air fresheners just replaced. It's not _that _bad."_

_Pretending to ignore his captain of ages ago, Tyson gagged, beginning to writhe on the floor. "My nose! It cries for mercy!"_

_"What are you talking about? You've lived with it for the past 3 weeks – why is it so horrible now?"_

_Tyson stopped in mid-squirm, only to grin cheekily up at Kai. "Maybe because I can see up your nose and am thus reminded of my olfactory senses?"_

_Kai gave Tyson a glare, feeling rather self-conscious – though of course he'd die before admitting it. "Get up, then."_

_Tyson flopped back down, still feeling a little silly. "But it's comfyyy," he whined, still grinning a little._

_Kai rolled his eyes and shook his head. "I'm not surprised that you find it so," he continued the banter. "You _are _down there with your fellow grime-eating microbes."_

_Tyson froze, shooting a glance at the floor mere inches away. "Eww. Really?"_

_Kai smirked. "Why do you think I've been wearing indoor shoes for the past month?"_

_"Oh, ew, Kai. Thank you very…" Tyson scrunched his nose into a crinkled ball before starting up in realization. "Hey! I do not eat grime!" He stuck out his tongue vehemently. "So there."_

_"Yeah, right! What do you call those?" Fully engaged in the friendly combat, Kai pointed emphatically at the mounds of wrappers on the floor._

_Tyson stood up and crossed his arms condescendingly, biting back a grin of his own. "I'll have you know that Twinkies are not grime. They are an important, nuclear-resistant food source that contains 7 essential nutrients." (1)_

_Kai snorted. "Oh, right." He began ticking the list off on his fingers, "Sugar, sugar by-products, artificial flavours, caramel foot grease, ear wax…"_

_Tyson swatted at his hands. "Oh, shut up. As if your caffeine addiction is any healthier. And hey – doesn't it stunt your growth?" He sauntered closer to Kai, raising a hand to his head to compare heights. "Hey, I'm taller than you! So what does that tell you?"_

_Kai looked incredibly unimpressed. "It tells me you're on your tiptoes, Tyson. Face it; I'm taller than you and always will be._

_Tyson fell back onto his flat feet. "By, like, an _inch!_ Not fair!"_

_Kai shook his head, remembering the cleaning they still had to do. "If it bothers you so much, go get high heels or something." At Tyson's indignant squawk, he carried on blandly. "Julie was showing me hers the other day. Apparently they go up to 6 inches." _

_Tyson went silent, which Kai took to mean that he was fuming silently. He smirked over his shoulder – yup, Tyson was tapping his foot promisingly. "I'm sure you'd look great in a flashy hot pink number."_

_"_Kai_!" Tyson shouted, his face going red in a mixture of embarrassment and indignant anger. He whipped his finger up to point dramatically at Kai. "YOU," he announced, "are so dead."_

_Kai gave him a measuring glance, before casually checking the pulse on his neck. "News to me. Not that I'm surprised, of course. You English majors don't have any brains for rational logic."_

_Tyson sneered, stalking over to where Kai had opened the closet door. "Yeah? Well, at least I use big words that will actually exist in a dictionary and aren't made up to describe something microscopic!"_

_"Better that we invent impressive new words rather than trying to impress everyone with our laid-back, unprofessional sweats and general greasiness."_

_Tyson nudged Kai in the chest with his elbow. "Ah, but you'll notice I have a distinct lack of a geeky lab coat."_

_Kai twitched. "Do _not_ remind me about the lab coat. I still haven't gotten over the fact I need to buy a new one for next semester. They're over 40 bucks, Tyson!"_

_Tyson whipped around, giving Kai his best defensive wounded dog impression. "Hey, it's not _totally_ my fault! You were yelling at me to do the laundry so I did! I still don't see why you have to get so mad!"_

_Kai pursed his lips. "Tyson, you washed it in hot water with that stinking red shirt of yours. My pristine white lab coat turned _pink_. I had to wear a _PINK_ lab coat for the last two weeks of the semester, much to the amusement of all fifty people in the class!" He snarled at Tyson, who backed up and turned, quickly rummaging in the haphazard organization of the closet._

_There was a pause, before Kai grumbled. "Can't believe that one girl said it matched my eyes. It did _not._"_

_Behind the closet door, Tyson desperately tried to muffle his entirely inappropriate laughter._

_Kai crossed his arms. "I'm still waiting for my apology, you know."_

_He got an answering snort, muffled slightly by the closet's walls. "What are you talking about? Those stains on your lab coat totally destroyed my red shirt. I _loved_ that shirt!"_

_"We've been over this, Tyson. That shirt of yours was five years old, at the very least."_

_"Then it had sentimental value?" Tyson's voice weakly suggested, still muffled slightly. "Ah, here we go! Hey, Kai! I just figured out what will solve _all _your problems!" His face safely hidden by the closet door, Tyson grinned wickedly._

_Kai tilted his head in mild curiosity, knowing that Tyson had nothing serious to say. "What? A different roommate?"_

_In response, Tyson drew back dramatically into sight, pulling on a huge pair of yellow dishwashing gloves. "_Au contraire_, my dear boy. You'll be pleased to know that the doctor," Tyson paused, snapping his right glove meaningfully "is IN." _

_"Oh, good." Kai didn't even blink. "Then he can tackle the garbage mountain in the living room."_

_"Aww, Kai!" Tyson protested, but was cut off by Kai snapping his fingers an inch away from his face. "Aa! Don't _do_ that, man! I've had way too many beyblades fly at me to not freak out at that!"_

_"I know," Kai returned to smirking. "Go clean, Tyson."_

_Tyson brushed past him, "Fine. But that means I get to pick the music."_

_"Hn. As if I care abo—" Kai broke off what he'd been about to say when a familiar preppy base beat began sounding around the apartment. He groaned "Tyson, not Spears _again!"

_Tyson bobbed his head, 'singing' along. "Iiisiiin't she luuuckkyy, this – _Ow! _Kai, that hurt!"_

_Kai gave him a _look_, feeling no guilt at having thrown a paperback at Tyson's head in the slightest. "Good."_

_Tyson shot him an equally heated look. "Fine," he gritted out, then deliberately hit the "repeat" function on the CD player. "Whoopsie," he carolled. "Lookit at clumsy ol' me."_

_Kai closed his eyes in resignation, gathering his shattered calm about him like a protective cloak. With a hidden sigh, he, too, set to work, though he took definite comfort that Tyson had to touch all the grime-infested areas due to his garbage duty.

* * *

_

Back in the present, Kai snorted in disbelief. Tyson had always been a little … untameable. In all the years Kai had known him, he'd only seen him withdraw one time – the rest of his life had seemed as if nothing in the world could keep him down. Inwardly, Kai had never stopped being stunned at that drive. Sure, he recognized that he had that own determination within him, but Tyson's resolve seemed to be fuelled by an unending bright energy that swept everything up into a whirlwind of adrenalin. Kai may have been methodological, but he would be lying if he said he hadn't counted on that energy too many times to be admitted. There was just something about Tyson, Kai supposed - as he had many times before. You were fine in your life until he burst in. Five seconds later, your life was overturned, your values flown into disarray, and all you could do was blink in shock and say, "How did I survive before this?" 

Kai cringed as he picked up a particularly nasty banana peel. As with every time he had to clean, he promised himself that he'd keep their place in better condition. This year he actually hadn't done too poorly – at least until the second week of classes had started. Kai continued to clean on automatic, trying once again to remember what had happened since then.

The radio softly playing the rock music in the background, Kai continued to wrack his brain. He didn't like being at a mental disadvantage to begin with, and now he had a wriggling, nagging feeling that he was missing something critical. Based on the recent, praiseworthy events (Kai took a moment to silently thank benevolent professors the world over), he knew it didn't have to do with school. It wasn't monetary either. Having pooled their funds, Tyson and Kai had enough money to not have to worry about any monthly withdrawals the various companies would make, though they certainly had to work hard during the summer.

Was it groceries? Well, they were low on food, but that wasn't anything new. Kai would just go and pick some up tomorrow.

Had he missed an appointment? No... he always ensured those were scheduled during March break.

Social life? Kai rolled his eyes in fond disgust at himself. He _had_ no social life, nor did he see why people needed one. As long as he had the necessary equipment and interesting specimens, he saw nothing wrong in spending the entire day at the lab. Peace, quiet, and squirmy microorganisms. It may have been weird – Tyson certainly thought it was – but Kai didn't think he'd ever derived this much enjoyment from something necessary to his future.

Educated guesses at what was bothering him obviously weren't solving his problem, though. His memory was still a hazy blackness, though if he remembered hard enough he could dimly recall a warm blanket of some sort…

He blinked. What an odd thing to remember.

Shrugging, he returned with increased vigour to cleaning. He'd clean up and _then_ he'd sit down and remember… whatever it was.

In the meantime, he would be satisfied with the knowledge that Tyson would _seriously_ owe him when he got back.

* * *

Two hours later, Kai believed he was almost done. The garbage had been taken out, the furniture had been dusted, the windows had been cleaned, the dishes had been washed and put away, and the bathroom had been immaculatized. Kai paused a moment, wiping at the acrid sweat on his face, breathing a little heavily. He'd launched himself entirely into the cleaning and it showed – the place _gleamed_. He was just about done washing the floors and then he'd be able to relax.

The phone rang two minutes later, just as Kai was dunking their mop into the slightly dirty water. Gritting his teeth at the grating insistence of the ring, he leaned the mop against the wall before lunging for cordless – grabbing it just before it switched over to the answering machine. He kept a wary eye on the mop as he pressed the "talk" button – the mop was notorious for clattering onto the floor if it wasn't propped up against a surface in a specific degree of angles. During some of his paranoid minutes, Kai occasionally believed it was conscious and out to drive them insane. Eeeevil mop.

"Hello?" Kai wondered, slowly edging back over to the mop, which shook tauntingly at him. Maybe he could grab it while whoever it was spoke. Unless, of course, they wanted to speak to Tyson – then he'd need both hands free to write out the message.

"Hey, Kai!" Rei's surprised voice sounded through the receiver. Kai shot an equally surprised look at the phone. What on earth would Rei be calling them for?

Rei continued, oblivious to Kai's reaction. "I can't believe it! You're coherent!" His voice faded as he obviously spoke to someone beside him. "Hey Max! Kai said a whole word!"

"What on _earth_ are you babbling about?" Kai snapped.

Rei's voice returned in full, accompanied with a shrug that was somehow conveyed through Rei's speech. "Nothing much. It's just that when we called a week ago, you weren't making any sense." Rei's snicker made Kai twitch. "We had to use Tyson as a translator!"

Kai frowned in confusion, though he was relieved Rei couldn't see the embarrassed tinge he could feel heating his face. "You called last week? What about?"

Rei gasped loud enough to be heard over the phone. "You don't remember?" he wailed theatrically. The voice faded again as he turned to his partner. "Maxie, he doesn't remember!"

"Kon," Kai ground out, not in the mood for the neko-jin's characteristic playfulness. He shot a glance out the window, looking at the setting sun. It was getting a bit late, and Kai growing mildly concerned. Tyson hadn't called once and the thorough cleaning hadn't turned up any explanatory note. Not only that, but he'd found Tyson's room already cleaned (a heart-stopping event in and of itself), the bed didn't look as it had been slept in a while and Kai hadn't found Tyson's backpack around _anywhere_.

Kai shook his head, dislodging the thoughts and returning to the conversation. "Whatever it is, just spit it out already."

He heard Rei grump. "Touchy," came the muttered complaint. "Surprise, surprise."

Kai scowled but said nothing, tucking the phone by his ear with his shoulder and moving back over to finish mopping.

"Anyway," Rei's voice filtered through the line, "since you don't remember, we gave you guys a call last week because we wanted to know if you two wanted to get together when classes finish for the semester. You know, to spin the tops a few times and maybe catch up a bit? And yes," Rei continued wearily, accurately predicting Kei's scornful comment, "I know there's a month left. Maxie insisted we call you guys early to make sure we got you two before you made … _other_ plans." Rei paused and Kai dimly heard Max chuckle softly.

Kai shrugged automatically before remembering that Rei couldn't see it. "Whatever," he said instead. "I wouldn't mind that, actually."

"Hey, awesome!" Rei exclaimed. "I don't know about you, but what with school and all, it's been ages since I let Driger out to play."

Kai let his smirk enter his voice, already gearing up for their friendly competition. "I'm sure it will show."

There was suddenly a scuffle on the other end with a muffled laugh, and suddenly Max's voice burst through. "Hey, Kai!"

Kai mentally groaned. He'd never been able to come to terms with Max's unnaturally high levels of naturally produced sugar. "Hello," he calmly returned.

"It's great to hear you sound better!" Max chirped. "Can I talk to Tyson?"

Kai concentrated on scrubbing at a sticky spot on the floor. "Ah, actually, he's not here right now. Do you want me to give him a message?"

"Oh, no, no, no!" Max's voice rushed to answer, and Kai could detect a note of panic. "It's nothing! It's just that when I was talking to him last week, he sounded really depressed. I was just hoping to see if things had gotten better, really."

Tyson? Depressed? That news alone was enough to make him stop mopping. "What about?" he inquired, trying not to make it sound too demanding.

A brief, whispered conversation, and then Rei's voice picked up the line - rather snottily, Kai thought. "Kai, if you don't know then we're not going to tell you."

Now he was getting annoyed. "What sort of cheap, cop-out answer is that?" he bit out, not bothering to mask his irritation.

"It's the only kind of answer you're getting," Rei returned hotly. "Do you know if Tyson'll be able to come to the get-together?" For some reason, he sounded unduly worried.

Kai rolled his eyes and seriously debated sarcasm. Of _course_ he didn't know. Instead, he switched ears and answered. "No clue."

Max took over again. "Well, do you know when he's getting back?"

"Again, no. And why don't you know if he's coming or not? Weren't you talking to him last week?"

Max hesitated slightly. "Well, yeah. But he didn't get a chance to answer."

"Why not?" This wasn't sounding like Tyson at all.

Max's voice regained the inner smile. "Because he said that you'd fallen asleep on him and so he had to hang up. Apparently, you were cutting off circulation to his legs." Another chuckle escaped through the line when Kai didn't answer – he was too embarrassed. "Well, you wanted to know."

"Shut up, Max."

"Sure thing. We've got to go anyway. Give us a call when you find out about Tyson, willya?"

Kai sighed. "If I must. I'm sure he's just at the library or something."

"WHAT?"

Kai winced and held the phone as far away from his ear as possible as Max's voice rose to untested heights. "You don't know where he _is?_ Kai, you—"

Kai's thumb pressed the "end call" button, taking great satisfaction at the finite clicking sound it made.

* * *

The sky grew dark with the onset of the night as Kai finished the cleaning and made a small supper for himself. Plate in hand, he moved to the chair and grabbed the Immunology book he was supposed be reading. Making himself comfortable, he turned on the television's entertainment channel for some background noise before plunging into the frothy, exciting waters of the immune system's lines of defence.

Although, somehow the normally fascinating involvement of the cells didn't seem so interesting at the moment. Deciding to relish in the lack of stress, he stretched. He stared off out the window, noting that the glimmering lights of the city completely outshone the stars.

Tyson would have enjoyed that – would have probably run with that train of thought straight to develop it in an essay and would have promptly amazed the professor with his intuitive insight, or what-have-you. Kai let a soft smile glow on his face at the thought. Tyson would always come home after getting a good essay back, his face beaming in ecstasy. If Kai wasn't bogged down with work – or even if he was – Tyson would inevitably drag them both out to a bar or some such thing.

Of course, after a single drink, Tyson would end up flirting extravagantly with their waitress. The odd thing was that, more often than not, he wound up getting her phone number. He'd usually call a couple of days later, they'd go out, and they'd instantly "click" as friends. Kai had calculated one time that Tyson's female friends outweighed his male friends by 68 percent.

He wasn't sure how to feel about that. Absently, Kai slipped a bookmark into his place in the text and let the book rest against his chest. It wasn't that he was surprised that Tyson had so many friends. Tyson's outgoing nature made it easy to attract people. It was just that, sometimes, Kai would begrudge the social life that Tyson was so obviously enjoying. On nights where Tyson would dash out with a cheerful, anticipatory smile and a promise to see him later, Kai would feel … missing, somehow. The minute the door swung shut, the apartment grew cold and lifeless, leaving Kai to turn on the music and try to distract himself from the chilly emptiness of the room.

On such a night, a sudden storm had blown up outside and Kai had wondered if this might have been his life had he not come and lived with Tyson: dark, friendless, empty, devoid of any cheerfulness, stuffed into a cramped, dirty room with nothing but a falsely cheerful dj for company. Even now, the weight of that depressing thought made him shudder.

Tyson didn't know this, of course. Kai had had enough trouble telling himself the truth, much less telling Tyson what he'd realized. Besides, Kai liked to maintain at least his _image_ of the lone wolf. As for Tyson… if Kai had told him, he knew that Tyson would have felt guilty about leaving and would have stayed home. Tyson, Kai sighed, was _nice_ like that. His niceness occasionally made Kai feel sorry about the depths of his own scumminess.

Not that Tyson would ever find out about _that_, either.

Their microwave clock chimed seven o'clock, making Kai direct his previously absent gaze towards it. Tyson wouldn't ever have a chance _to_ find out, it seemed – certainly not if he stayed away. Where _was_ he, anyway? Kai made a few calculations and hypothesized that Tyson had been away for at least a day and a half – the longest he'd ever been without informing Kai as to his whereabouts since they'd started rooming together.

Kai let his head slump back against the chair's back, letting out a sigh big enough to ruffle his bangs. This was ridiculous, he told himself. Tyson is _fine_. There is a logical explanation for everything and this is no exception. Even if you can't remember where he is, assuming he told you last week sometime, then he'll come back before Monday. I saw his books here, and he has to do his readings for the week. He'll come back. He has to, just has to…

At that particular moment, his stomach decided to tie itself into knots. Kai groaned.

"There is no reason to worry," he told the empty apartment. His confident, self-assuring voice fell flat and faltered as the clock ticked away the seconds. "Tyson is fine. He's over twenty-one. He is a grown man." His voice rang hollow.

But … what if Tyson wasn't fine? What if something had happened? Tyson was so trusting – still let that encompassing trust in humanity guide his actions. What if someone had taken advantage of that? Kai began to feel nauseated and his throat dried out. His hand grabbed at his hair and then clenched: a sure sign of a panic moment. Kai began running through everything that could have happened. Tyson could have met someone and had gone out to a bar.

He could have met a new girl and was showing her around campus.

He could have twisted his ankle walking home, which was why he was so slow.

He could have been bitten by a dog.

Hit by a car.

Stabbed by some drunkard.

Raped by some freak drug-addict.

Kidnapped by some former rival.

Kai started trembling. What if Tyson was lying there, bleeding on the streets while Kai sat here like some fat lump?

"Tyson, Tyson, Tyson…" he chanted under his breath, his eyes darting around the room frantically, as if they'd missed seeing his blue-haired best friend before.

Kai realized he was panicking and took a deep breath. He clenched his eyes shut and breathed slowly for a good minute before daring to open his eyes again. He had been overreacting before. Tyson was _fine_ and would show up when he came home. Kai would, of course, wait until Tyson did show up before chewing him out for making him worry. Kai let an anticipatory smirk quirk up his lips. _This_ reaming was going to be very intense; Kai didn't think he'd ever worried this much before.

He blinked. Actually, if he thought about it, all the worrying he'd done over the past years _was_ about Tyson. The schoolwork was stressful, but he'd never worried like this about it.

Kai felt his lips part slightly in shock. He'd never felt what he did now for anyone else before this either. More importantly, though, what he felt now was vastly different than what he'd felt towards Tyson in high school – or even during the prime of their beyblading days. In high school, he wouldn't have flipped over this – he would have shrugged it off as Tyson being his normal irresponsible self and not given it a second thought. But now …now…

He didn't have to look in a mirror to know he was a wreck.

What had Tyson _done_ to him? Without his knowledge or awareness, Tyson was somehow the only thing that Kai valued now. His dreams, his grades, the events in his life – they were nothing without a cheerful bluenette with eyes that smouldered warmly and a smile that substituted the sun. Without Tyson, Kai was … _nothing_. His only small comfort lay in the fact that Tyson probably didn't know – nor would he, if Kai had any choice in the matter. Tyson had too much power over him. There might have been no-one that Kai trusted more, but he'd rather be executed at dawn than to willingly admit to his loss of control.

He found himself chewing on his thumbnail and tore his hand away in disgust. Just look at how distracted he was already! How on _earth_ would he be able to function at all when Tyson was around now that Kai knew …

He knew…

Kai admitted the truth in the small corner of his mind: What he felt for Tyson… it wasn't just friendship. It was more. It was so much more – like how the moon dominated the other stars in the sky, or like the ocean washed over the creeks. How the major highway compared to their quiet, residential one-car-wide street, or even how the Concorde swirled graceful circles over the bumbling bee.

His smile grew despising. He was such a pathetic loser. There was no way that Tyson would _ever_ feel the same. How many girls did he know, and how many more were breathlessly waiting even a glance from Tyson? Besides, what would Tyson want with Kai? He was –

Able and willing to mentally berate himself, the sudden strobing of the television caught his attention. The officious looking reporter shuffled her notes at him, then gave her general audience the perfunctory smile. "Welcome to the hourly news. Tonight, we'll investigate the latest charges and recent activity in the West. But first," she announced, shuffling her papers again and clearing her throat.

"Tragedy struck the University of Tokyo's campus today when a drunk driver collided with a student. The young man, whose name has not been released, was hit while he was crossing the intersection at approximately four o'clock in the afternoon. Unfortunately, he has obtained severe injuries and is in critical condition."

Kai felt his heart stop and wither away, before his legs burst into action - dashing themselves towards the television. His hands gripped the monitor, as if that would reveal something more. _Nononono_ came his mental chant, his eyes scanning desperately at the screen. The reporter prattled on, carrying news of the charges of the driver and the promptness of the emergency team. All Kai could take in, though, was the single shot they showed of the jean-clad legs sprawled motionless – the rest hidden by the car.

Tyson always wore jeans… He wasn't home… He _never_ looked when he crossed the street – always trusting the cars to stop for him.

Tyson was…

Numbness ate away at Kai's body, beginning with his chest. It was worse than any cold he'd ever faced because with it came the knowledge that he was _alone_. His vision blurred for a moment before he bent his head. Kai bit back a sob, then released the despair within him with a yell. His hand arced up to hit the TV set, effectively destroying the reporter who was now describing the recent bombings in Iraq.

He shuddered before restraining himself again.

He knew what he had to do.

His face blank and unmoving, Kai moved swiftly over to the closet and grabbed his jacket. In doing so, he had to look at Tyson's winter jacket, which still hung in the closet next to Kai's, before averting his eyes. He didn't want to know… but somehow, he had to know. To know if the one in the hospital was really…

Stars, he couldn't even _think_ it. He was pathetic. And empty. He was worth nothing.

No, he realized as he shakily put on his shoes. He was _worse_ than nothing. The last month and a half could have been spent with Tyson, but instead he'd stayed awake to work on his schoolwork, tuning the world out. And now, Tyson was in the hospital in critical condition and Kai ­_couldn't even remember what Tyson had last said to him._

Kai grabbed the door for support, not only for the wave of sorrow that drowned him, but also for the bile of nausea that rose in his throat. He was scum.

With bitter self-revile, Kai jerked the knob, getting ready to head into the Not-Tyson world of the planet. He could already anticipate what would happen: the cold walk, the bright, chilly hospital room, the discovery of the identity of the one who'd been hit… and the colder walk back. Would Kai give in to the twisting thought in his head, which said he should end it all? There were so many ways and they were all so accessible.

Tyson would have punched him out for that thought, but Tyson wasn't here anymore, was he? Kai clenched his eyes shut. _No…_

And tore the door open, stepping forward before his automatic movements could grind him to a stop.

But stop he did, because there, in front of him, staring at him with inexplicably hesitant eyes and biting his lip…

Tyson.

_His_ Tyson – with jeans and backpack and keys and flaws and friendship and _everything_.

He felt his knees sag with the sudden joy that flooded his body, washing away the despair and grief and sorrow and death that had so consumed him earlier. His eyes could only stare, unblinking, as he took in the vision in front of him. The mourning tears which had tracked their way down his face slowed and stopped, before starting up again in sheer joy. His arms, desperate to hold onto reality, reached out and grabbed the warm arms of Tyson, pulling the other inwards into a trembling, grateful hug. Kai bent his head, only to have it shudder against Tyson's shoulder.

Tyson was _alive_. The student who'd been hit… it wasn't him. Tyson was ok. And here. Warm and trembling in his arms and _not going anywhere._

"It wasn't you!" he murmured, his voice strained with repressed grief. Even now, in the midst of the joy, the despair that he'd felt just seconds ago scared him boneless.

"…Kai? What are you doing?" Tyson's voice slid dully into Kai's ears. Confused, Kai drew back.

He froze as he suddenly actually _realized_ what this might have looked like. Tyson had probably come back from a long day at the library, only to be pulled into a desperate, too-long hug by his _roommate_, who'd probably ignored him consecutively for the past month.

Kai risked a glance to look at Tyson's face – _really_ look at him, and drew back further with what he saw. The softly burning fire in Tyson's eyes had dimmed drastically, while his face was twisted in bitterness.

They stared at each other for a long while, each desperately wishing to know what the other was thinking. Tyson dropped his gaze first, shuffling his feet on the floor. "Hi," he muttered. "Sorry for bothering you. This will just take a minute, I'm sure."

Kai's eyebrows shot up, then tried to raise themselves to epic heights when he realized that their door was still open. He shot a quick, apologetic glance at their prudish, elderly, _peering_ neighbour before closing it quickly. His right hand, though, stayed firmly planted on Tyson's warm arm. The two of them, now confined to their narrow lobby, stared at each other some more, the silence growing increasingly awkward.

Finally, Kai had had enough. "Come on in, Tyson. I can explain." He mentally winced as he heard the soft, pleading almost-whine that infused the suggestion.

Tyson chuckled softly, but bitterly. "Let me guess. You've gotten your sleep and now you're doing make-up comfort? You don't have to bother. I mean, I appreciate the sympathy and all, but…"

Kai tilted his head, not bothering to hide his confusion. "What? Well, yes, but…" He rolled his eyes and tightened his grip on Tyson's arm, who was squirming slightly in a subtle effort to break free. "Okay, no. You come in." Kai shot a venomous look at his roommate despite the tears he knew still glistened in his eyes. "We're starting from the beginning."

He dragged a quietly protesting Tyson over to the couch, before tossing him easily onto it. Kai pointed a demanding finger at Tyson "Sit. Stay. I'll get you something to drink – you look exhausted. Did you spend all day at the library again?" Turning his back on the stunned look of Tyson's face, Kai headed off for something to drink for the both of them. Tyson was obviously … well, "off" was the only way to describe it, and Kai _knew_ he was still shivering with the aftershocks of that fear. The two of them were a dual wreck. Despite all that, though, he could hear his voice hardening slightly, his emotions gratefully withdrawing into the automatic front he presented to the world.

When he came out a minute later carrying two Cokes, he saw Tyson curled up in the far corner of the couch, those normally vibrant russet eyes staring dolefully at the floor. Kai blinked. Had he been dumped or something? This seemed worse than getting a bad mark on a term paper or some such thing. He firmly suppressed the guilt that gnawed at his heart. He hadn't even known Tyson _had_ a girlfriend, much less what was going on.

Scum, scum, scum… what kind of friend was he? A scummy one, that was certain. And Tyson was just…

Abruptly, he shoved the drink at Tyson. "Here. Drink. Talk. What happened?"

Tyson shot him a scornful glance, one that said, "as if you don't know." "You first," he only said aloud. "How has your weekend gone?"

Kai glared. "You start. I asked first, after all."

Tyson huffed and dropped the eye contact. "Look, whatever. Indulge me for a change. How have you been doing?"

'­_Indulge me_' – the words seared through Kai's brain, as if to remind him how awful he was sure he'd been before. Prompted by his conscience, Kai answered. "Well, fine, if you must know. The profs all granted me extensions and gave me two weeks off from classes for some odd reason. So yes." He sighed, "in case you're wondering, I did get some sleep. _And_," he added, only slightly vindictively, "I cleaned the place. By myself."

"No kidding!" Tyson's eyes shot upwards again with a genuine look of surprise. "But, um… the television's in shards."

Kai's eyes shot a panicked glance at the tv's gruesome remains. "Ah…" he stammered. "Well, the thing is, with that, it was…" Kai risked a glance at the confused face he'd come to know better than his own. Should he tell?

"Yes. Tell me," said Tyson simply, and it took Kai by surprise – how had Tyson read his mind?

"I told you before," Tyson muttered, shooting an embarrassed glance at the floor. "I can see right through you, Hiwatari."

Kai squirmed, then caught himself squirming. Crap. Salvaging his tattered dignity, Kai sniffed. "Well, if you _must_ know, there was a news report about a student who'd gotten hit today. And you weren't home, and I didn't know where you were, so…" he trailed off, unable to finish the sentence or even to look at Tyson. This was the most emotion he'd hinted at in … well, ever.

"Kai…" Tyson's voice breathed, full of sympathy. "And you thought… Oh, man, I am so sorry. I… are you ok?" A warm hand tentatively touched his shoulder, as if afraid.

Belatedly, Kai realized his face had scrunched up with the effort of holding back tears. He tried to wave his hand dismissively, not trusting his voice to speak. This was ridiculous. Tyson was here and safe and Kai _knew_ it wasn't emotions brought on by fatigue. What was wrong with him? Shakily, looking down in shame the whole time, he brought his hand to clasp gently at the warm one on his shoulder. It would probably be uncomfortable, but he needed reassurance that Tyson was _here_.

His hand closed firmly around Tyson's. With some distant amusement, he noted that Tyson's hand shook worse than his. Should he be relieved? Frightened? Was Tyson going to run screaming from the girly little Tyson-liking boy he'd apparently become – and was helpless to change? Unconsciously, he clenched in fearful anticipation, daring a peek upwards at Tyson's probably disgusted face.

Instead, Tyson's head shook softly as if he knew what Kai was going through, and his eyes had softened into liquid pools that Kai just wanted to drown in. "It's ok, Kai," he heard whisper. "It's ok. I'm here, and I'm not going to leave for a bit."

Kai's expression went from grateful to sullen, his awake brain easily picking out the problem with that sentence. "Wait, you're going to _leave_?" he wondered. "Why?"

Tyson froze and extricated his hand from Kai's continued hold. "As if you don't know."

Kai shrugged and shook his head negatively. "I probably don't. Tell me."

Tyson's expression went from mortified to angry. "What? You want me to say it again? Is that it? You want to hear it once more – just to _confirm_ your knowledge that your roommate is a freak? Well bite me, Kai! Get off my back!" Tyson shot up out of the couch's seat and stood indignantly, staring down at Kai in trembling rage.

Much of Kai's lost confusion must have shown on his face because Tyson suddenly paused and looked uncertain. "Uh… you _do_ know what I'm talking about, right?" Tyson's face suddenly spread into an attractive crimson.

Again, Kai shook his head. Then, affronted that he'd even been _doubted_, reached out and grabbed Tyson's arm. "I told you to sit. We can get back to this later. I want to know where you've been all this time. You had me worried sick!" The phrase leapt out before Kai could stop it, but somehow the shame he felt at admitting that didn't come. Tyson _had_ worried him sick and Kai wanted Tyson to know that, wanted Tyson to know, even in this small way, how much Kai cared for him.

Tyson looked guilty for a moment, then just as confused as Kai looked before. "I told you on Wednesday. Remember? I said I was going to stay at someone else's for a while until I could figure things out." He shifted, uncomfortable. "Actually, I'm probably going to head back there as soon as I grab the rest of my texts." Tyson's voice lowered to a barely audible mutter. "Otherwise, things are going to be _waay_ awkward."

"What?"

"Nothing."

Kai snorted. "Riiight." He folded his arms over his chest, immeasurably hurt. "What on earth could you have to think about that you couldn't do over here? I can stay out of your way if you want. I've done it before, and I most certainly could do it again."

Tyson shot him an incredulous look. "I do _not_ believe you! Of course I couldn't think about this kinda stuff with _you_ around! I mean, look at you!" His hands waved dramatically at Kai's body in a grand, emphatic, all-encompassing, vague gesture.

Obliging, Kai looked down at himself. He saw a pathetic university student who'd only just recovered from too much sleep deprivation, dressed in ill-fitting, too-small, ratty old clothes that mostly weren't his. He looked at Tyson, curiously. "I fail to see your point."

Tyson glared.

"Well, I don't! And getting back to this whole issue, what on earth would make you leave here?" Kai hesitated only a second before launching on to more personal ground, the desperation at losing Tyson making his voice jump slightly. "Do you really have to go? I mean, you're in a good location, the rent's not too bad, you're a great roommate…" A thought hit him and he swallowed in blood-draining realization. He covered his eyes with his hand. "It was something I did, wasn't it? Otherwise this conversation wouldn't even be happening." He glanced through his fingers, cautiously taking in Tyson's stunned expression. "Give it to me straight. What did I do?"

Tyson licked his lips. "Nothing, really." He smiled a self-mocking smile. "It's all my fault, honest."

Kai blinked, taken aback. He briefly checked himself for grievous injuries. "Well, I'm still intact and the apartment hasn't burnt down, so I fail to see just what, exactly, you did."

Tyson looked down for a long time, as if gearing himself up for a nasty confession. Finally, his soft voice whimpered through the silence. "You really don't remember? It was Tuesday night…" Tyson seemed almost to plead.

Kai felt guilt ransack his mind again. With Tyson's voice like that, he would have given anything to remember if it would make Tyson happier. Instead, all he had was the pathetic truth. "I don't," he muttered, ashamed. "Sorry."

Tyson muttered an even lower comment to himself, one that sounded like, "Hey, you did it once. The second time will go a _lot_ better, right? Yeah, right." Finally, Tyson shook his hair back and looked Kai straight in the eye. "Well, if you _really _don't remember…"

Kai shook his head, honestly curious now.

Tyson briefly closed his eyes, sighing. "All right, then. Taking it from the top. Hello, Kai." He extended his right hand.

Kai decided he felt an interesting mix of bemusement and bewilderment. He reached out his own hand to shake Tyson's. "Hello."

Tyson grinned, somewhat shakily. "My name is Tyson. It is a pleasure to meet you. I am twenty-two years old. I am no longer heterosexual. In fact, I am most definitely singularly homosexual." Tyson's delicate grin grew even shakier as he withdrew his hand and looked at Kai's reaction.

Kai… stared. "You're _what_?" Shock nailed him to the couch with hopeful magnets.

Tyson's grin widened to scary proportions. "Why, yes. Your best buddy Tyson is gay. Isn't that a nice surprise! And, might I add, it's _so_ nice to see you paying attention to me this time."

Kai dismissed the last oozing sarcastic sentence in favour of concentrating on the first part. He blinked several times, firmly squished his fluttering heart, and forced himself to nod calmly. Once past the initial shock, he discovered that it didn't really change his perception of Tyson in general. Of course, now this silly hope within was even stronger, but Tyson himself hadn't changed. "All right," he accepted. "That's cool. Sorry about that. Uh… can I ask how you…?"

Tyson seemed taken slightly aback by Kai's quick, relatively calm acceptance. "Huh? Oh, sure. Well, there was this guy and I ran into him and he said I was gay and I didn't think I was but then there was something else going on and I started to really think about things and after a while I realized that girls were nice to look at and all but I didn't really care about them and …" his voice trailed off, out of relevant information and air. "Yeah."

Kai… blinked again. "How verbose."

Tyson shot him an incredulous glance. "You don't remember that _either_?"

Wordlessly, Kai shook his head.

"Wow. Ok." Tyson took another deep breath. "Hey, though. I wasn't done my introduction." The scary grin planted itself back on his face, despite Kai's inner panic. "You want to hear the best part?"

Kai raised his eyebrow. What on earth could be more shock-inducing than telling someone you were gay? "Sure," he said instead.

"I'm crazy about someone already! Actually, he's my best friend! How's that for a kicker?" Tyson laughed desperately, blinking quickly to push back the sudden tears Kai could see invading.

Kai was caught in a state of limbo. Intense surging _hope_ that the one Tyson meant was him, and despair-causing grief that insisted that Tyson had too many friends for Kai to be counted as a "best" friend – he was probably no more than a roommate. A "high school buddy."

Tyson, for once, misinterpreted his neutral face and went on the defensive. "Yes, I know. It's weird that I want you and all, but try to get over it, ok? Your face is creeping me out."

Kai choked. "_ME_?" he gasped, shock fully colliding with his head with the deadly speed of sound.

Tyson paused in his nervous fidgeting to summon a scathing glare. "You didn't _know_? Man, I thought you were supposed to be all smart or something."

He certainly didn't feel very smart at the moment. Kai couldn't even think of a witty retort, much less find the thought process to summon a glare.

There was a nervous pause. "Say something, willya? You're gaping like a fish, you know."

"Aaa…" Kai gargled. "Me?"

Tyson bit his lip and closed his eyes, as if he'd been expecting this reaction. He shook his head and went to stand up once more. "Yup, you. I can't stand to look at you without wanting to hold you and kiss you senseless. This would be the critical influence that makes me unable to think about anything when you're anywhere around me. And now you know, and so that's all you'll hear from me because I know enough not to actually expect anything back. Sorry about all this." Tyson shot him a weary, mocking grin, looking again at Kai's frozen face. "That's it. I'm gone. Goodbye, Kai."

"No!" the word leapt from his mouth before he could stop it, and his hands leapt out to fist in Tyson's shirt. "I… well, it's just that…." He hesitated and paused, wishing desperately for some time to compose himself. He was no good at impromptu speeches, much less ones that dealt with profound emotions he had realized only a few hours ago.

But if he didn't say what he felt, then Tyson would _leave_. Maybe forever. And Kai didn't _want _Tyson to leave, just like he didn't want the Earth to stop spinning or the air to stop existing. Tyson leaving would utterly crush him – but how to say that?

He was at a complete loss for words; the only sounds he could attempt to make were squeezed into nothingness by the tight pain in his chest. Instead, he made do with shaking his head vigorously in denial and clenching his hands tighter in the cloth.

Tyson, to his credit, hesitated at the sudden unstable wreck his crush had become. "Kai?" he breathed for the second time in that conversation, daring to hope … just maybe? His heart, cracked already with defeat in the only area that had come to matter, paused before its final demolition.

"I…" Kai took several deep breaths. This was worse than writing a final that he hadn't prepared for. How had Tyson admitted it with such ease? He continued to stare at the floor. Fake hardwood was really quite interesting. It had all those spots and specks and lines…

A sudden thought struck him and he began to snicker with the sheer irony of it all. Even funnier was that he could feel Tyson tensing beneath him in shock. He quickly calmed himself down. Tyson, he somehow knew, had gone through too much to be held in suspense any longer. To answer the unspoken question he could feel hovering in the air, Kai leaned back against the couch.

Tyson blinked at him – half in confusion and half in expectation. "Kai?"

Kai chuckled one last time. "It's almost clichéd, isn't it? You know," he went on to explain, gazing almost mockingly at the ceiling, "the two best friends since high school get a room together, fall for each other and wind up happily ever after." He snorted. "If I had a dime for every time I'd heard that story, well... I certainly wouldn't have to work, that would be sure."

He turned his head to leisurely face Tyson. "Of course," he continued, "that doesn't make it any less true." Kai forced himself to hold the gaze, internally praying fervently that Tyson would understand what Kai still couldn't bring himself to fully say.

Tyson blankly stared at him for a long moment before his eyes suddenly widened. His lips parted in shock, and the previously dimmed fire lit up those beautiful eyes once more. Kai felt like smiling and so he did, giving into the soft temptation to openly appreciate the sight before him.

Tyson suddenly grinned in full, the smile illuminating the small apartment once more. "No way," he said.

Kai cleared his throat. "Way."

Tyson inched in, his face shimmering in nervous hope. "You're not kidding?"

Kai went to roll his eyes and mutter a comment about Tyson's stupidity, when he actually _looked_ at Tyson again. Melting chocolate eyes poured over his heart, and Kai found himself unwilling to do anything else but to stare at Tyson – to stare until time stopped, or something equally drastic.

"…Tyson…" he heard his voice murmur and watched as his hand drifted over to settle gently on Tyson's cheek, feeling somehow rewarded when Tyson licked his lips nervously.

Tyson's face began to inch closer, almost hesitantly. Kai watched it with rapt fascination and silently thanked the sleep that let him be awake to _absorb_ everything in front of him. Tyson was trembling faintly, his eyes were softly closing, those expressive lips of his were pursing slightly…

Kai moved closer to Tyson on the couch as his heart quickened in anticipation, the fabric underneath him rustling slightly. There was no other sound in the dark apartment; it seemed as if the world had paused and was holding its breath. Even the moonlight seemed to freeze, beaming only on the two nervous men on the couch.

"Hold on…"

A frown suddenly crossed Tyson's face and he drew back, apparently missing the whining growl that rumbled from Kai's chest. Kai frowned warningly and drew back himself, letting his arms cross themselves in a gesture of frustration. He was _not_ pouting, nor was he sulking petulantly. He just wanted to know what could have been so _vital_ that warranted interrupting the 'moment.'

With a deep breath he waited for Tyson to speak. He would wait until Tyson was done babbling, and _then_ he would kiss him. Senselessly. Kai smirked. That would show Tyson to interrupt his hormones.

Tyson looked at him, his lips twitching as if he was trying to restrain a smile. "Sorry. I had a good reason for that. You know how you said you don't remember my previous confession?"

He blinked, then drew out his answer. "Yeeeah?"

Tyson tilted his head, in such a manner that (although Kai had seen him do it thousands of times before) it made him want to run his hands through that impossibly blue hair to feel its softness and warmth. "So," Tyson continued, "what _do_ you remember?"

Kai leaned smoothly back into the couch, thinking hard. As expected, the usual black blankness swam upwards. Kai frowned, searching deeper; he glanced at the apartment around him, trying to find some object that would stir his memory. He had no luck with that, and so turned to Tyson with a helpless shrug. "Nothing. The best that I can come up with is this memory of something warm."

Kai groaned at his lack of self control. This was so _embarrassing_! No longer would he be in control of the situation now that Tyson knew he had such a horrible memory. In his lap, his hands fisted in consternation.

Tyson, though, blushed fiercely and looked down. "That's all you re-remember?" he stuttered.

Kai glared at him, letting Tyson interpret the silence. He wasn't going to admit to his weakness again.

However, instead of being affronted, Tyson just beamed at him, still visibly red despite the dim lighting of the apartment. Tyson moved in – making Kai's breath hitch for some reason – and draped a warm hand across Kai's shoulders. Kai continued to stare at Tyson in rapt study, his eyes searching for the reason as to why Tyson would be delighted with his pathetic memory.

Tyson grinned at him and moved in even closer until their noses bumped playfully. Kai looked at the familiar face in front of him through half-closed eyes. He was still vaguely curious about why Tyson had been so happy, but was rapidly dismissing the investigation in view of how Tyson was looking at the moment.

"I hope you realize," Tyson's voice breathed softly across Kai's lips, "that the warmth you remember … was _me._"

Kai's eyes shot back open and he jerked back, missing Tyson's critical last inching movement forwards. "You?" He turned an incredibly suspicious look on to Tyson – who was looking as put out as Kai had felt earlier. "Did you do something that I should be aware of?"

Tyson fidgeted in a feeble attempt to inch closer without actually seeming to. Feeling slightly vindictive, Kai openly moved down the couch, seeing clearly through Tyson's actions. He smirked at the pout that Tyson immediately wore, where the bottom lip practically touched the chin.

Tyson fidgeted again. "Nothing much, I guess." He flashed another bright grin at Kai. "Just took care of you when you were acting like a total baby."

Kai twitched. "What?"

Shaking his hand dismissively, Tyson continued. "Nah, sorry. It wasn't that bad." He pursed his lips, which made Kai itch to finish talking so they could move onto other, more enjoyable things that didn't include discussing the complete fool Kai had made out of himself before.

He snorted. "You're lying through your teeth, aren't you?"

Tyson stretched. "Weeeelll," he drew out. "Waking you up in the mornings was probably the worst of it. The rest of the time, you really just acted like a zombie."

At Kai's resigned sigh, Tyson grinned _again_. "A really cute, brain-dead zombie."

Kai glared as Tyson continued, caught up in his own perceived superiority. "A really cute brain-dead zombie who seemed obsessed with cuddling."

A glance at the now-fuming Kai. "With me. It was like I was your personal teddy-bear."

Kai growled, shooting a hand out to cover Tyson's mouth when it opened to say more evil things. "You," he said, "will shut up. Right now."

He could feel Tyson's lips move into a smile under his hand, and suppressed the shiver that wanted to make him tremble. They were so _close_ right now, in a way that had nothing to do with their proximity.

Tyson seemed to read his mind, because the hand he brought up to take Kai's hand away from his mouth was oh-so-gentle. "Hey," Tyson murmured.

Kai gave him an appraising gaze. "Hm?"

"I just realized something."

Kai's half-smile ran away screaming at the promising tone in Tyson's voice. "Oh?" he muttered.

Tyson leaned in once again. "If you don't remember anything else, then you probably don't remember what _else_ happened Tuesday night."

"Ah, no," Kai coughed. _How embarrassing_, he thought.

Tyson pouted cutely. "Darn. So you don't remember me kissing you until you were mush and putty in my quite-capable hands?"

Kai's eyes shot open and he threw himself away from Tyson, falling erratically onto the floor with a hard "thud." "WHAT?" he yelled. "I thought you said nothing happened!"

Tyson offered him a hand up. "Nothing except for that. Honest." He snickered.

Kai glared, yet took the proffered hand. "Do I even want to know the details?"

A moment passed before he registered the hopeful look that was overcoming Tyson's face. Kai waited expectantly. "Well?"

Tyson worried at his lower lip, trying to hide the obvious grin. "I don't know if I could _tell_ you all the details, but I'm thinking I could probably show you. Fairly precisely, too."

Kai adopted a proud stance. "My obvious hypothesis is that the outcome won't be the same." He smirked, daringly.

Tyson shifted into a better position, his face reflecting the excitement that had started to silently crackle between them. "Is that a challenge?"

"What do _you_ think?" If Kai knew Tyson as well as he thought he did, then that reply ought to do it.

Tyson grinned, easily accepting the obvious incitement. "I think you'd better prepare yourself." He licked his lips.

Kai watched absorbedly as the muscle wetted Tyson's mouth. Catching his breath (and conveniently ignoring Tyson's knowing gaze), he raised his eyes again as his smirk grew. "Show me what you've got, then."

"I always do, love."

There was a stunned pause.

Kai drew back in shock and watched as Tyson's eyes shot wide open and his hands flew to cover his mouth.

Had he heard that right? Kai wondered, but a glance at the horrified look on Tyson's face was enough to convince him that that sentence had slipped out against Tyson's conscious will.

Biting his lip and turning red, Tyson moved down the couch. Kai instantly registered the difference without the other's body heat, before debating what he should do.

The answer was obvious.

His face adopted a rarely-seen smile that encompassed the melty, hopeful feelings inside him. Once again, Tyson's courage had shone out, leaving Kai amazed that he had ever gone without this brightly burning spirit that was quivering so fearfully on the couch beside him. Kai moved down the couch with slow movements, not wanting to frighten Tyson away, yet _needing_ to get close to him, to reassure him. Tyson shouldn't ever have to be afraid, and certainly not of Kai. Kai would _never_ hurt Tyson, not even if it meant sacrificing his own self.

A fraction of a second of hesitation, and then his arms wound around Tyson and drew him into a tender embrace. Tyson stiffened slightly, yet let himself be manipulated enough to become comfortable on Kai's lap.

Kai leaned in, positioning his mouth so that it was near to Tyson's ear. "That was _very_ nice to hear. Say it again?" he murmured softly, his breath fluttering a few strands of Tyson's hair.

Unknown to Kai, a hint of pleading slipped out in Kai's voice. It made Tyson warily turn around and return Kai's encouraging look. He bit at his lip. "Love?" he whispered, trying the word again nervously.

Kai felt his eyes blinking rapidly as he felt something inside him melt into utter capitulation. "Again?" he pleaded, needing to hear that one word that was suddenly making every moment in his life seem worthwhile.

Tyson moved upwards, gaining confidence. "Love," he said, once more bumping noses playfully. "Love. I love you, Kai." His lips brushed softly against Kai's cheek, briefly outlining one of the tattoos.

Kai shivered and felt his arms clutch almost desperately around Tyson. Tyson returned the embrace, equally needy, and for a while the only sounds in the apartment were the desperate, sobbing, ragged breaths of two men caught up in a long-denied release of emotions.

A few minutes later, Kai relaxed, brushing his own lips across Tyson's forehead. He smelled really good, Kai realized, moving to bury his nose into Tyson's neck. Tyson accommodatingly moved his head so that Kai could have better access, and Kai proceeded to relish the delightful aroma that was hitting his nerves with a sledgehammer.

What was it about Tyson that made him suddenly sit up and take notice of things he'd never really registered before? Kai wondered at this, too, before dismissing it as unimportant. He was too caught up with this unique aroma, which seemed hauntingly familiar despite the fact he'd never paid attention to how Tyson really smelled before. Ignoring the faint blush he could feel eating at his accursedly pale skin, Kai tentatively licked Tyson's neck. He tasted good, too. Darn. Now Kai wouldn't ever be able to resist him – not that it had been very likely in the first place…

Suddenly, hands tangled themselves in his hair and tugged incredibly gently upwards. Kai complied and soon found himself on equal level with Tyson. They stared again at each other for another long minute, before something made Tyson quiver. Kai felt those warm hands of his move down to softly cradle his face. He sighed, incredibly content in the moment, and let himself smile slowly at Tyson.

Tyson quivered again before moving in, brushing his lips over Kai's other cheek. "Is it any wonder that I _love_ you so much?" he sighed. The sheer fervency of his voice made Kai shake a little in sympathy. Would he _ever_ be able to express his own feelings in such a confident way? Tyson was _amazing_. Kai wound his own hands through Tyson's hair to pull him in, resorting to actions to express what he himself could never say.

Tyson deserved so much more than him, Kai knew. But, for some reason, Tyson had irrationally decided on Kai as the only one…

Kai firmed his resolve. He would do whatever it took to make Tyson happy – to actually earn the feelings that Tyson was humbling him with. He moved back slightly, shaking his head to clear away the bangs that had fallen into his eyes. They blocked his view of Tyson, and that was bad. Especially now that he was going to try and say what he felt…

He opened his mouth, closed it, and then looked down at their recently entwined hands. He didn't actually have to look _at_ Tyson when he was saying this, did he? He opened his mouth again.

"Tyson, I…" he stammered out, feeling like some sort of incapable school-girl confessing a crush. Then he realized what the implications were of what he'd just thought. He quickly hog-tied that idea and mentally chucked it into a snake-infested pit. "That is to say, I… um…"

"Kai?" Tyson's soft voice brought his gaze back upwards. Kai bit his lip as he took in Tyson's expression. It was that soft, understanding one – the one he'd seen after he'd unwillingly broken down in a comforting Tyson's arms after Zeo had stolen Dranzer. The sheer _memory_ of that experience was enough to have him shake slightly.

"Kai, it's ok," Tyson continued, soothingly. A hand rubbed calming circles on Kai's back. "I know. It's ok, I _know_." Tyson smiled tenderly at him.

Kai frowned, ignoring the happy relief that was washing through him. "But, Tyson, it's not fair. I mean," Kai continued, struggling to find the words to express what he meant, "it's not fair that you should say it and that I … _can't._" That last word was choked out as Kai realized the truth. He couldn't say it, couldn't give Tyson what he deserved … could he even admit it to himself?

He tried this, looking away from Tyson's sympathetic, understanding eyes. 'Tyson,' he thought, 'is everything. I…' There, too, his mental voice tapered into nothing, leaving only a swirl of confusingly happy colours.

He buried his face in his hands. He was pathetic. And scum. And…

"Kai, bloody hell _look_ at me," Tyson's voice, suddenly hot with anger, seared through his ears. Feeling compliant, he glanced up at the bluenette, who sat half-shadowed in the dark. Two shaking hands gripped his arms, making him tremble slightly in association. He looked at Tyson, confused.

Tyson grinned tentatively at him. "Hey."

Kai tried to appear fine – he really did. "Yeah?"

The two hands rubbed up and down Kai's arms in a soothing gesture. "It's _ok_, Kai. I understand."

He sighed. "I know that, but I still…"

Tyson shook his head, pressing one finger on Kai's lips to get him to stop talking. "Show me?" he grinned winningly.

He glanced down at the warm finger that still pressed against his lips, then looked up at the hopeful face in front of him. Show…

Kai smirked. He'd always been more for overt demonstrations, anyway. And didn't actions speak louder than words?

Still, as he pulled Tyson closer and met him in a soft kiss, he vowed to, one day, confess his feelings. Somehow, he would find a way to ­_tell_ his Tyson the things his voice choked on, what even his heart shied away from declaring. In the meantime, though…

He kissed Tyson again and again and _again_, letting his lips and mouth answer Tyson's euphoric recitation as their hands pulled worshipfully at the other.

"I love you, Kai. I love you so much," Tyson sobbed, escaping Kai's mouth only to reattach onto Kai's neck. Kai let his head fall back with a small noise and let Tyson do as he would. _Everything_ was for Tyson, just as he knew that _he_ was everything for Tyson. He pushed aside the humbleness that came with that thought, smirking instead as an interesting idea skittered through his mind.

Outside, the clouds that had previously obscured the moon shifted, moving away and letting the pale, white light shine into the windows of a certain apartment. The full moon seemed to shimmer as time itself, encompassing the past, present, and future in the space of a single night. With benevolence, it looked down at the two individuals who had finally come together after years of emotional separation.

"I love you, Kai," Tyson sniffed – saying it once more that night, and as a promise for the rest of their lives.

And Kai, after a while, voiced it just as earnestly.

* * *

**Author's Text Notes:**

(1): Family Guy reference. It has taken over my braaaaainn.. Rrrgh. ((clutches head in pain)) Stewie! Nuuuu!

* * *

**A/Ns**: Twenty-six pages. ((dies))

But! ((grins)) SMEXY! (I hope?) ((waves at a certain someone))

Have you noticed how most of the time, those who appear incredibly confident on the surface have this little wiggly snake inside them that makes them mentally insist they suck?

And have you noticed how much crap I put Kai through? Muaha. Evil! I ­_liked_ that confession scene. After all, Kai needed to vaguely suffer the angst and torment he unwittingly put Tyson-sweetie through. Yes, indeed. ((nodnod))

Alsoooo… did you notice that Tyson was wonderful enough to let the whole excused-from-classes thing slip by without demanding a "thank you"? ((swoons)) He is the niceness.

It was so much fun writing this li'l thing. I hope you enjoyed!

**Please review!** And hey! If you don't know what you want to say, you can tell me what you think of this debatable question:

Kai's face-marks: Face paint or tattoos? --

((shrugs)) I dunno, which is why I'm asking you guys. ((grins)) Everyone in this community is so smart and friendly! Wowzers! I promise to e-mail you guys back for reviews, if you'd like!


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